Such a Splendid Spontaneous Summer Social Soiree

I had the wonderful privilege of meeting about twenty of my fellow law school classmates yesterday evening. From the onset, however, it seemed as though our soiree was going to be a failure.

Being the first to arrive at our planned location, I naturally became fearful that no one would show up. After all, this was a spontaneous event created by a few of us anxious incoming law students, hence the use of the word in the title. By 6:30pm after sitting at a table drinking lemonade alone for nearly ten minutes, I was nearly overcome with nervousness. Outwardly, I'm sure that I appeared quite normal, but inwardly, I was full of doubt. No one was early except for me. The thunderstorms would probably keep everyone indoors. Maybe no one really wanted to come anyways. I even began planning when I could give up and go home. If no one shows up by 6:45pm, then maybe I should just leave. I'M SO GLAD THAT I DIDN'T!

After a few moments of panic, the first of my classmates arrived. Within the hour, many of us were sitting in a large circle laughing, connecting, and forging friendships that I know will grow much stronger over the years. At some point, mid-conversation, it became apparent that about 90% of our group hadn't eaten dinner, and well, if you know me, you know exactly what I did! I excused myself and walked right into a widely known restaurant a few blocks away. Once inside, I asked the hostess if they had enough seating capacity and available staff members to handle such a large group. She said yes!!! In no time we all happily walked over together to restaurant. The live music was pleasant. The food was delicious! The company... the company was even better.

As a result of yesterday's events, knowing that I've made some good decisions in my life and some not-so-good decisions in my life, I'm almost certain that this decision was a great one!

For those who are counting down with me, orientation is in three days and classes begin in a mere eight days! 

The Cookie That Drove Me to Tears

There I stood gazing out of a window from the thirty-eight floor of one of the tallest, most beautiful buildings in the Windy City. Below me were hundreds, no, thousands of strangers, many of whom I would never meet. Beside me were a handful of law students with whom I had just become acquainted. In my right hand was a cookie, a delicious, half-eaten M&M's® cookie. It was the first one that I can remember eating in well over a month. I stared down at the cookie happily, fully understanding all that it symbolized, and burst into tears‼

My recent trip to Chicago was more than another networking adventure or a business trip. It more accurately represented a glimpse of my future reality - a reality, that before last weekend, had not been clearly visible to me. Over the course of the weekend, I was introduced to some of the most prominent lawyers, judges, and legal scholars that reside within this nation. I was able to engage in conversation with many of them during panel discussions, mentoring sessions, and unimaginably delightful meals. One meal in particular gave me the feeling that I was long-lost princess finally returning to the place that she'd be arduously searching for for so many years. Simply put, I will never ever forget the experience that I had in this particular restaurant. After tea and drinks were provided for myself and the other attendees, restaurant servers walked amongst us carrying dainty hors d'œuvres on fancy, wooden boards. Following the starter course, our hostess welcomed us into a separate display area filled with a plethora of soups, salads, and bread selections. Later on during the meal several chefs began to circle the dining room offering various samplings of their prized creations. As a means of describing just how unique and wonderful this dining experience was, I consulted with two of the servers in order to comprise the following list: 

Fire Grilled Ribeye

Wagyu Beef

Spit Roasted Leg of Lamb

Curry Lime Red Snapper

Amaretto and Pistachio Duck Breast 

Linguica Pork Sausage

Asian Pork Belly 

Bottom Sirloin 

Moroccan Chicken 

New Zealand Venison

The aforementioned foods were the tableside samplings that were provided during the main course , along with some of the most additively yummy spinach dip and other small dishes.  I sampled each one of the meats except for the pork belly and venison. Just when I thought I couldn't possibly eat another bite, dessert was served. Charming little cheesecake squares, brownie bites and other pastries filled the center of each table. My taste buds were overwhelmed‼‼

Now, why I'm sharing this story? Well, I may not be a philanthropist at the moment, but I can definitely donate my time and a few encouraging words. Many people agree that, "Hard work pays off." Yet, there are so many others that are not willing to put in the hard work necessary to realize such a worthy payment. Education, in my opinion, is one of the best routes to success‼ The wonderful thing is that as long as there is breath in your body, then it is not too late. Ken Wilde, a Holocaust survivor, received a master's degree in history at age eighty-six. His inspiring story should do exactly what it is set out to do - inspire‼ Hopefully, my story will inspire as well. 

(It's also worth noting that I do not mind editing essays, helping with resume writing, or sharing my perspective. Whether that be tonight or years down the road, I will try my best to make time for what's important. Someone helped me, mentored me, and advised me. With each step that I take I am one step closer to doing the same thing for someone else and making a larger impact in my community. That's what it's all about‼‼‼)

The Good, The Bad, and The Best

What a day I've had! Let's see.... today I've been chipper, extremely sad, overburdened, overjoyed, overwhelmed, super Southern (if such an adjective exists), confused, annoyed, hopeless, satisfied, hurried, prayerful, worried, embarrassed, giggly, talkative, scared, determined, helpful, etc... I could go on, but I think you get the picture. Overall, the good outweighed the bad. Today was a fantastic day, although it didn't start out that way. 

My job hunt went terribly today. I guess you could say that it was so bad, that I don't even want to talk about, let alone blog about it. Speaking of jobs, another thing that really upset me today was my visit to an institution that shall remain nameless (simply because I think that's good etiquette). I wanted to open up an account near campus today so that could set up direct deposit in the near future. That didn't go so well. After wasting about thirty minutes, six branches of a tree, and quite a bit of ink, I left the building in the same state that I arrived in - without any type of account set up here. My day quickly turned around though.

A new friend of mine - that I randomly met last week - invited me to eat dinner with her and her friends tonight. I accepted my invitation and was asked to bring delicious bread for dipping! Once I made my way to the correct address and stepped through the threshold, I knew from that moment on that I was going to have a great evening. A wave of spices in the form of a tasty aroma floated in my direction! The entire first floor must have smelled so rich and savory! One of my new friend's friends was in the kitchen stirring a pot of southern stew flavored with Mexican pork. He turned around, waved me inside and the evening of laughter, stories and deliciousness began. Long story short, I intended to eat dinner with only three new friends, but I ended up making six more my the time I left! The best part of this story is that I'll get to enjoy their company again tomorrow! We have an entire schedule of things all mapped out, but I don't want to spoil the surprise, so I'll tell you all about it tomorrow.

Words of Encouragement: Many of my days remind me of the phrase used to describe the month of March - they come in like a lion and go out like a lamb. Whenever you feel like your day can't get any worse, do your best to stay positive. Your day can most certainly get worse, but it can also become a whole lot better, especially if you work toward making it a better day. Could you imagine what would have happened if I would my invitation to dinner tonight simply because I was in a bad mood? 

When life give you lemons, grab a little sugar, a few quarts of water and mix up a pitcher of lemonade! Make the best of what may seem like the worse, and remember, someone would love to have your bad days!

So Exactly What Are You Doing Right Now?

That seems to be the magic question for me now-a-days‼ Graduating from one college and immediately moving to another college twelve hours later isn't exactly something that students do regularly; so I can understand why some of my friends and family members may be a bit perplexed. Hopefully, this post will shed a bit of light into those gray areas.

I am pretty sure that surviving my first year of law school will be no easy task‼ Completing my first year of law school while balancing grades, a part-time job, and participation in a few organizations will prove to be even more difficult. That being said, when I was trying to decide what to do this summer, I knew that I didn't want to do something that would be strenuous or stressful in any respect. I am pleased to announce that my plan is working‼ I've been fairly relaxed for the past week.

I have two jobs here on campus doing things that I love to do - meeting new people and communicating with constituents via the telephone. When I'm not at work, I'm able to continue to do things that I love - explore the neighboring cities, watch films on Netflix, and sleep‼ Being able to take unexpected naps in the middle of the day is one of many blessing that this summer has offered me‼

In a way, I'm kind of hibernating right now. For the remainder of the summer I hope to conserve my energy and brain power as I recuperate from the past four years of intense essay writing, sleepless nights, and final exams. By orientation I should be refreshed, well-rested, and ready to take another step closer to the real world.

My Inner Alarm Clock

Friday . . . 7:25a.m.

Saturday . . . 6:54a.m.

Sunday . . . 7:57a.m.

Monday . . . 7:38a.m.

Tuesday . . . 7:14a.m.

Every since I moved last week, I have not been able to sleep past eight o' clock in the morning, and it's not for lack of trying. Last night I went to sleep at about 3:30a.m. in hopes of waking up a little later this morning. That didn't work either‼

I have yet to figure out what has caused the appearance of my new inner alarm clock. At first I thought that it may be as a result of moving to a new time zone. However, I only moved one time zone over, and before relocating I most certainly was not waking up before 9:00a.m. every morning. An older friend of mine said that at a certain age, the body creates it's own "work clock." So, although I don't have a job that requires me to wake up this early, one day I will and my body knows that all on it's own. Consequently, it will become habit for my body to wake up without an alarm. I guess I could believe that. My mother has never used an alarm clock for as long as I can remember, and she's always on time for work.

Does the body simply revert to it's own sleep schedule at a certain age? Could it be the change in time zone? What do you think?

What's In A Subtitle?

Next City? Next Goal? Next Step?

Does such a subtitle have the potential to accurately describe the current road upon which I traverse? In simplest terms, yes, it does‼

To begin with, I am in a brand new city‼‼ Coming to Illinois has been a wonderful, yet occasionally difficult experience, e.g., my constant inability to make phone calls in my apartment. Luckily, I've already encountered some equally wonderful people here who have been able to help me with my transition. I haven't even been here a week, and I know that I'll be able to comfortably call this place home soon enough.

So about that next goal. I actually did have a goal in mind when I added those words to the subtitle of my blog. Generally speaking, my next goal is to obtain a Juris Doctor degree within the next three years. Sounds easy enough, right? Well, maybe not, but when considering other extremely arduous circumstances through which I preserved; this next goal seems much more feasible to say the least. 

Now how could I possibly explain that next step? I guess that next step can be best described as more of a series of small steps. Matter of fact, it may even correspond more closely to a dance, seeing as many of those steps will not continue along a linear path. They will be more like a dance or a performance. Just like in every performance, once the final steps have been made and the curtain has been pulled, life still goes on, but something has changed. That performance is over. Once it is over, a new focus with new steps and a new routine will emerge. You could say that now I'm taking my own steps, creating my own dance and getting ready to give my curtain call in only a few short years. Once the crowd stops applauding for me at my next commencement ceremony, I'll be One Step Closer... to the Real World.