Friends, I have something to tell you. I have a goal, a dream — a big one. I’ve had it for several years now, and while I’ve shared it with a handful of people, I haven’t exactly been shouting it from the rooftops. But I’ve decided to put it out there for all the world to see, so that you can hold me accountable, perhaps provide a bit of encouragement, and follow me on this journey.
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This Friday, I’ll be speaking at an undergraduate career conference. In preparation for my panel on Advocating for Justice (legal careers), the organizers sent me some questions to consider. The first was how my educational experience sparked my interest in being an attorney or working in the judiciary and making a difference in this sphere.
I laughed a little when I read the question because, as some of you know, I didn’t even consider going to law school until after I had graduated from college. I started trying to think of experiences I’d had in college that may have led me in this direction, but then I realized that pointing to any particular undergraduate experience would be a contrived answer. I decided it was best to just be honest with these students, because the truth is that many of us don’t have some early moment of clarity or grand plan that leads us to our dream careers. For me and many others I’ve met, we got to where we are largely by chance. More accurately, we made a bunch of small decisions without a big vision. We put one foot in front of the other, unable to see the full path but hoping and trusting we’d eventually end up somewhere good.
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Anyone who knew me when I was younger would surely tell you that I did not have an innate interest in fashion. One of my good friends from high school followed all the trends, knew what brands celebrities were wearing, idolized Carrie Bradshaw, and aspired to a career in fashion merchandizing. I occasionally picked up bits of knowledge from her, but otherwise, I was pretty clueless. I bought most of my clothes from the clearance racks at places like Kohl’s. As a result, I often dressed more like a grandmother than a stylish teen or 20-something. When I interviewed for my first post-college job, I wore a too-tight ivory suit from Target, and one of the interviewers kindly told me afterward that I had neglected to clip the “X” of thread at the back hem of the skirt that held the two pieces of the slit together. When I had to attend business professional events in college, I didn’t own an actual suit, so I paired non-matching black pants with a black blazer in a completely different fabric (although in retrospect, perhaps they were different enough that I actually pulled this off despite not knowing any better). Read more
A couple of months ago, about eight years after graduating from law school, I used my tax refund to pay off the remainder of my law school loans. It felt amazing. I have a few student loans left from undergrad, and I’m on track to pay those in full by the end of this year. (I paid the law school loans first because their interest rate was higher.) Watching the balances shrink as I’ve thrown money at them has been exhilarating, and I’m excited to be able to focus more on saving and meeting other big financial goals going forward. I began attending college in 2002, and more than sixteen years later, I’m finally almost finished paying for it.
The U.S. legal system is complicated. Even if you were born and raised in the United States, you likely didn’t get a thorough overview of our legal principles in your schooling unless you went to law school. With legal topics frequently in the news, you may be left wondering about aspects of American law. Why do courts decide cases the way they do? Why don’t legal rulings always comport with what seems like common sense?
As long-time readers know, I like to listen to podcasts, particularly educational ones. In this post, I thought I’d round up some of my favorite law-related podcasts that can help you gain a better understanding of the legal concepts that shape current events and daily life in the United States. Readers, what are your favorite legal podcasts? Please tell us in the comments.