As of last night, I am a law student!
Last night was the first half of our two-part orientation session, in which various professors and deans pounded into our heads that we will have no life for the next four years. Yes, that’s four years – my program is a PT, night program. We attend school three nights a week for four years, including summer sessions. Because it’s PT, though, I get to work – which means that my debt load will be minimal. I’m also lucky enough to have a boss who recently went through law school himself – so he fully understands the stress involved, and is more than happy to work with my schedule. He’s also *very* good about pushing me to do more than the average paralegal – so I’m already pretty adept at briefing, document drafting, etc. Once the 3L rule goes into effect, he’s going to have me up in front of a judge as well – so that’ll be great experience. Overall, I’m terribly lucky.
But – back to school. Instead of going over practical things – like where to get our parking passes and how to sign up for the school’s email system – we were regaled with tales of horror about how we will have no life for the next four years. I understand that they are trying to prepare us for the worst, but really – this wasn’t much different than what we went over at the “welcome session” a month ago. I want practical things, dammit! Just tell me where to park!
Ha – and then we had the “student introduction” section of the evening, where we went around the room and told a little about ourselves. I live in an area known for it’s technology and medical fields, so we have a plethora of engineers, biologists, patent clerks, and other impressive-sounding jobs in our class. Me? I’ve been a working/starving artist for the past 7 years. I got tired of not having health insurance. I took paralegal classes because I thought it might be a career I’d enjoy. I DID enjoy it – so I decided to go to law school. Of course, I have the altruistic reasons why I want to be an attorney. I am still very much tapped into my artistic community, and so many of the people involved in that community can’t afford basic legal representation. I want to give back to them, because so many of them have helped me out when I’ve been in a bind. Based on my paralegal classes and working in a small firm for the past year and a half, I really *enjoy* the practice of law. I love the mental challenge involved, and I love the interactions with the clients. I love hearing the stories.
But really, I’m 30. I want to start a family. I want a stable job with health insurance and a 401K. When you’re a working/starving artist, you don’t get to have any of that. So I decided to go to law school because it’s a career that interests me – but also because it’s a career that I should be able to stay gainfully employed in.
Ah well – I keep telling myself that all the engineers and geneticists in our class don’t have the experience I do. I ran a small business for 7 years, I’ve interacted with some of the more fascinating subcultures in our society, and I know what it takes to succeed. I’m used to working 70-80 hour weeks. I’m tenacious. I’m intelligent. I’m creative. I’ll be a good attorney. Perhaps not a *traditional* attorney, but a good one, nonetheless.
Wish me luck. 
