*Update- made some minor revisions/fixed some errors*
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I was seven years old when I first learned what it meant to be uncomfortable. What was supposed to be a relaxing Saturday filled with video games on my Xbox became one of the most influential experiences of my life. My father woke me up at 6 a.m. and told me to find a tough pair of jeans, eat some breakfast, and meet him outside in half an hour. We spent that entire day cutting down dead trees. By dusk, my gloves had become a tattered mess. I was shell-shocked and angry at my father. He had stolen my time from me and made me hurt – but at that moment, in the light of the bonfire created from felled limbs and brush grass, I felt an unexpected sense of satisfaction. I was seeing the direct product of my hard work. My father sat next to me by the fire. With a firm voice he said, “’Name’, you are my only shot at leaving something good in this world. I know that you will do great things someday and help a lot of people. Work towards that by making yourself a better person every day - never be comfortable.”
Fast-forward to my college years. After a year and a half at a small regional State University, I transferred to a school in the Big Ten with one of the lowest rates of grade inflation in the country. I know what it means to feel insignificant in a very large and unfamiliar environment. I have direct experience with learning how to not only survive, but to thrive in a competitive academic culture. I knew that to succeed, I would need to differentiate myself by carrying a productive attitude: there is a right way to accomplish anything – the challenge lies in finding the optimal method. I knew that if I was comfortable, I would not improve. For me, learning should always be at least a little uncomfortable. Academic success required the understanding that my environment is what I make of it. There must be an element of accountability. Holding myself accountable for my outcomes taught me the value of not only hard work, but smart work – the optimal method. I am starting to feel the beginnings of comfort, and I know now that it is time to find new challenges in my ceaseless pursuit of self-improvement. I am prepared for this transition. My undergraduate studies in Corporate Communications and Political Theory have provided me with a solid foundation of demonstrable skills that yearn for real world applications. I have studied a wide range of curriculum that has improved my ability to think critically, use effective rhetoric, articulate, and research. Law has emerged as my best avenue to not only utilize these skills, but create positive change in the process.
I am young and idealistic – but at my core, I am a realist. From my perspective, the world exists in two states: the way that it should be and the way that it is. We should certainly strive to create the ideal world that we envision, but that meaningful change must occur within the systems we have designed. I know that as a lawyer I will most likely never be a savior of the disadvantaged and downtrodden, but I know that a law degree will give me an avenue to create meaningful change – even if it is in the form of a single brief that sets positive precedent. I would rather make tangible “real world” contributions than be an imaginary maverick.
I reached my decision to pursue legal practice through a process of deep reflection. I considered if it was the best way to utilize my aptitudes and pursue my interests. It was important to ask myself how I could leave a positive legacy in this world while maintaining a constant pursuit of self-improvement. For me, there are no professions that can accomplish those goals as effectively as one in the law. I feel that my education and upbringing have provided me with an excellent foundation from which I can learn to effectively approach the complex and multifaceted legal dilemmas encountered within our justice system every day. I am especially interested in serving as an Assistant United States Attorney. I want to devote my life to the pursuit of ever-ambiguous truth because I have no preconceived notion of what that truth is. Through this pursuit I might gain the ability to make my own positive contributions to the millions of people in this country. I have arrived at my decision to pursue a legal education not because of the pay or the lifestyle, but because I firmly believe that the legal industry provides me with an excellent avenue to ensure that I can leave something good in this world, help others, and of course, never get too comfortable.
