The 'Accidental' Law Student

I always thought of myself as an accidental law student. I never dreamed of studying law when I was young but I remember wanting to become a doctor way back in high school. I took an interest only after college when most of my classmates entered law school. A few years after, a number of women managed to top the bar exams. In fact, one of them was a classmate and orgmate.  Not that I dreamed of repeating that feat. Perhaps, my interest was piqued with this perception that it's primarily a male-dominated profession.

And so I was able to convinced myself,  fueled with the challenge and belief that becoming a lawyer would be a good platform for other endeavours. I never really thought of it as an end, because I prefer an open-ended journey. I have so many interests that confining myself to one area would kill the others.

The first two years in law school is what I often call my 'survival mode', even if I managed to snatch that honor of being in the Dean's list in my previous school. Many times I thought of running away from law school. I would often be the last student to enroll every semester. Law school became my prison and I naturally resisted it.

My restlessness ended when I decided to transfer to another school of my own choosing. This move somehow signaled a liberation of sorts. It also became the start of my 'falling' in love with the study of law. Suddenly, my attitude shifted. Studying is now easier and not done merely for the sake of surviving. I now have this belief that I owe it to my self to be truly knowledgeable about the subject. There are still days  when I come to class unprepared and get a 'beating' for it, but I no longer curse under my breathe. I even feel that I'm cheating myself,  after all, the law professors are just there to facilitate our learning process. You have to ultimately account to yourself after four years in law school.

I am positive that with this new frame of mind, the remaining years of my studies will be a breeze. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Hopefully, law students out there share this perspective. It will not only ease the burden, it will make studying law bearable.