Casualties

This first day of classes is somewhat bittersweet because not all the faces have come back. Not all of us that started the journey are continuing on with it. This is a good thing though. I had an interesting temp job for the summer. One of our classmates was also there. He is a very intelligent person, but discovered that law school was not for him. He is now transferring to a masters program in philosophy. I can respect such a decision.

Law school is as much about finding yourself as it is about studying the law. If you listen closely you'll hear students murmur about finding what they want to do finally. You'll hear about the confusion of becoming a lawyer or not. Sometimes you will hear they figured out that being a lawyer is not for them. This is not the same thing as not liking law school. This black hole of time will easily suck up your life. School is HARD. It is supposed to be that way. Difficult opportunities provide rich areas of self-discovery. If you are a new first year, do not allow this cautionary tale to enter your paranoid side of self-doubt. If you're an upperclassman do pay attention to yourself though. It is one thing to be unsure what area of law you want to practice in. It is one thing to be concerned about finding a job. It is something else to believe that you don't want to be a lawyer. If you have those thoughts, then you should decide what you want to do. Do you continue on with the school of law, or put your heart into your own philosophy of interests?

Most of us will make it through school in three or four years. It will not be an easy journey, yet it should not be. The things that are worth doing are the greatest challenges to us. Yet remember the price of this challenge has casualties for others and ourselves.