proposition 1

Hello. You may be scratching your head about the blog title. You're probably thinking, "how in the heck is she going to try to make law school seem fashionable???" Well, that's not quite the plan. Allow me to explain. After a couple years of post-graduation flip-flopping about whether or not to go to law school, I have finally decided to take the plunge, bite the bullet, give it a go. (Yes, I have managed to squeeze 3 simultaneous mom-isms into one sentence.) My doubts about law school are certainly not atypical. They were derived from all-too-common places. First, the nay-sayers, including the current (or past) lawyers who warn against barreling into law school without considering what I would actually "do" with a law degree. I myself had originally planned to get a J.D. without necessarily planning to take the bar, be a lawyer, or practice law. I had always considered it a great opportunity to further a strong liberal arts education, and was taken aback when posed with the question of what kind of lawyer I wanted to be. I am unsure of who originally planted this idea of law school being a great opportunity even if you don't want to be a lawyer into my brain... perhaps my mom. In any case, I'm glad it was challenged by so many people, and forced me to consider whether or not this is really my goal, to study law, and what I could really envision myself doing with a law degree. The other source of my law school anxieties came from visions of frumpy-lady-lawyer in the dreaded pantsuit. As a young feminist, it embarrasses me to admit to this being a reason, but it would be a lie if I said the image didn't cause a feeling of slight revulsion. I am not a pantsuit gal, and more importantly, I have always seen myself as an art-lover, writer, traveler, and at times very introspective person, and I had trouble reconciling this self-image with that of lawyer. But letting this get in the way of the possible opportunities that await me in law school, and the things I could accomplish to help others, would be a shame. Plus, Yves Saint Laurent's Le Smoking pantsuit clearly shows that the pantsuit can be both sexy and empowering.



These may seem like bourgie anxieties, but please don't misinterpret me: I am from a single-parent, middle class family, and I will be taking out more loans than I can comprehend to finance this thing... so I have taken all aspects into consideration.

SO WHAT'S THE POINT??

It is especially relevant in the current post-Bush era of Obama-ism that I posit as my first goal of this blog to argue:

1) public service is IN. The past election has demonstrated that young Americans are becoming more and more involved in the public service sector. This is a surge of enthusiasm that hasn't been seen since the days of JFK. But honestly, how many times did you think to yourself during the campaign, "But I didn't even know that he/she cared about politics!" upon learning that another acquaintance had up and dropped their life to join the campaign. Well if being a follower, per say, means becoming an active member of the democratic system, I say join the masses. Thus, goal one: hip is not exclusive aspiring artists in WILLIAMSBURG and AUSTIN. The new hipster makes serving the public good an ongoing theme in his or her life. Further, a girl does NOT have to sacrifice femininity for her career aspirations.

2) Goal number 2 is to share my experience with those recent graduates or soon-to-be-graduates, or even those contemplating midlife career changes that are considering law school and are unsure of whether this is the path they want to go down. Perhaps those of us who haven't known since birth that we were meant to become lawyers... I promise to share the absolute truth about my first year at an Ivy League law school, infamous for its use of the (shutter) Socratic method.

3) And the last goal of this blog is to keep myself sane. Despite the cautionary tales I am still clueless as to what to expect. Lots of reading, obv. But what is my life going to look like, and will I be able to handle it? I got my undergrad degree from another Ivy League school, but law school is said to be a whole new playing field. I can only hope to have some time once a week to reflect... and share the goss about my class.


I am writing under a pseudonym to respect the privacy of my professors, classmates (read: enemies), and the institution I am attending. Please ask any questions and share your musings.

This session is now adjourned.