Grades and Other Musings.

All of my grades are in! I tend to check the site obsessively when the semester is over. The highest grade you can get is an A.

EDC312|Psychology of Learning - A
ENG241|U.S. Literature I - A-
GEO120|Geology of the U.S. National Parks - A
PSC113|Introduction to American Politics - A
PSC274|Criminal Justice System - B+

Which all puts my semester GPA at 3.81. My cumulative GPA is a 3.68. I'd like my cumulative GPA to be a bit higher, but compared to some of my friends' GPAs, I am pleased. While with these friends, I almost feel ashamed to have such a high GPA, but I can never tell why. I work hard for my grades so why not be proud of them and my GPA?

My classes for next semester are as follows:
- Cultural Anthropology
- Introduction to Literary Study
- Topics in Victorian Literature and Culture
- Intermediate French I
- Introduction to International Politics
- Crime and Delinquency

And, of course, orchestra.


I may be starting a small home jewelry business and the problem of picking a name has consumed me for the past three days. I keep wanting to somehow include something court or lawyer related but nothing comes to mind that doesn't sound completely ridiculous. Must keep thinking...

Semester Three - Done!

At about noon today, I finished my last final of my third semester. Which means five more until I am done with college which only leads to three more years of law school.

But the thing that is changing the most between now and January 24th when I return for semester four is that I am loosing my current roommate. We had met through one of the clubs we are in and even after getting to know each other better during the course of a day, I could tell that this year was going to be a vast improvement to my freshman year which, was to say the least, a disaster roommate-wise. Both of us were huge fans of Bones, tended to get to bed by midnight, took school seriously, but also knew when we could dance around the room singing. Needless to say, the past four months have been pure joy.

Well, I had known that she was an alternate resident advisor and could be hired at any time. After being teased with other RA friends telling her she had or hadn't been hired, getting e-mails saying she wasn't hired, and such, she had accepted that we'd be spending spring semester together. This afternoon, one of the graduate assistants that work with the hall directors gave her a call to let her know that she had been hired for spring semester.

Which means, I am now roommate-less. My RA has said that I will probably not be getting another roommate because more people are moving off-campus than on-campus. My problem now is finding out what to do with the room arrangement! Our ceiling is too low to bunk the beds and I really don't see the point in keeping it unless I can lower it to make it a couch situation. The desk is going to go since I don't need two. I also need to buy a microwave, rug, and some furniture for the balcony since those were her's.

I have a month to figure this all out. I'm super excited for her and wish her well with all those freshmen that she will have to deal with for the next four months!!

Too Slow or Too Quickly?

Sometimes I just wish I was already in law school, spending 20 hours a day studying or in class. Other days I even wish I was in the District Attorney's office in New York City.

And then there are days that I'm terrified of law school, that I want to stay in my safe undergraduate studies.

I mean, I know I want to go to law school. Unlike my year as a Secondary Education major, I honestly don't see my dream of being a prosecutor fading away. I could spend all day sitting in my Criminal Justice System class with the other CJ "geeks". Where else could I get excited about the Bill of Rights, talk death penalty in terms of constitutionality, or have someone finish my rambling of the Miranda warnings and be able to cite the Supreme Court case they stemmed from? I'm just hoping that my Crime and Delinquency class next semester proves to be just as entrancing as Criminal Justice has been...

My favorite courtroom drama, The Whole Truth, returned last night with many excited squeals from me. I adore SVU, Bones, and Castle, but I'm more in love with WT since it takes place in the courtroom and goes so far as to show both sides of the case, all the steps involved in building a case.


In other news, I'm still applying for an internship in Washington, D.C. this summer. I'm aiming for one of the district courts or something similar. I draw the line, unless it's my only choice, at interning at a corporate law firm. It's something I've never been interested in and I want this summer to be worthwhile and interesting. My dad has already booked a hotel room around the Fourth of July to visit me over the summer without me knowing if I even have an internship yet! The trust is overwhelming.

Fall.

The weather is finally acting like fall should. Instead of bundling up under my winter pea coat (bright pink, of course), I was able to walk around campus with just my cardigan and a scarf. It's lovely.

Since I'm the TV fanatic of room C301B, I'm allowed to feel sorrow over the fact that one of my favorite fall shows has been cancelled. The Whole Truth was such a great show, one that I found interesting. It shows the two sides of a criminal case, from the prosecution and from the defense and how each side interprets the facts of the case. Unfortunately, it was fighting against more popular shows in its timeslot, so it's only running 13 episodes. The cast was strong and so were the stories, so I'm still not sure why it's going.

On the other hand, I'm still in love with SVU, Castle, Law and Order: Los Angeles, The Good Wife, and Blue Bloods. Surprisingly, I have not watched a single NCIS episode this season for unknown reasons. Perhaps I'll catch up over Thanksgiving Break or something...

My spring schedule is being screwed up. The classes I want to take are filling up, especially those necessary for me to graduate. If it comes down to it, I can e-mail the professors and beg that they let me into the class. Most times, kids drop the class and open a spot for other people. Right now, these are my classes:

- Intermediate French I
- Cultural Anthropology
- Introduction to Mass Media
- Introduction to Literary Study
- Crime and Delinquency
- Topics in Victorian Literature and Culture

Since a few are filling up, my alternate is The Epic.

See That Girl, Watch That Scene!

I've commented on multiple occasions to my mom that I'm in love with this rooming situation this year. Just one example occurred tonight. Both me and my roommate are working at our school's Open House tomorrow and have to be up at 7am. Instead of going out for the night, we spent the night with her boyfriend watching Mamma Mia. Like, that would have NEVER EVER happened last year. We sang along to songs, had our RA join in when she went by on her rounds, and generally had a very light-hearted time. We're always in bed before midnight and if one of us is staying up, all but one light is off. It's lovely compared to the horror that was last year's situation.

Also, the law internship in D.C. is coming along nicely. I met with a resume person who gave me the okay for my current resume with a few suggestions for it. Now I just need to polish everything before I submit the application in January!

Internship, Ahoy!

I'm aiming for a legal internship this summer in Washington, D.C.. My only complaint so far is the resume writing.

I brought a rough-rough draft to the campus's career center for a review. Needless to say, the woman there was incredibly bitchy about it and made me hesitant to return if I was going to be treated the same way. Well, I've re-done the resume and am ready to step foot in the career center again, but this time I made an appointment with someone other than the person I worked with before. I also didn't use an online form but followed a paper I was given before I left last time, so the format should be correct.

However, I've started looking really in-depth at possible intern sites. Unfortunately, my top choice, NCIS, isn't accepting interns for the summer of 2011 since they are moving their headquarters from the Navy Yard to Quantico, VA. So my short list includes the U.S. Department of Justice, Air Force Office of Special Investigations, the local and U.S. District Courts, Office of the Attorney General, American Prosecutors Research Institute, and the U.S. Marshal though I am not opposed to looking at other places. I think it would be amazing to intern with the FBI if that was possible because, honestly, would that not be an amazing experience?

I'm also looking at housing. I could live on campus of American University, the school the internships are offered through, but I really want to live closer to the Mall and the Capitol. So, there's a group called WISH (Washington Intern Student Housing) that has houses right along the Capitol Hill and I would kill to get a bed there.

I'm getting so excited about this internship!! And lucky for me, my parents are completely behind me so far. If anything, they can visit me in D.C. for the Fourth of July or something, which plans to be great. How can it not be?

End The Backlog.

When I say I'm a huge Law and Order: SVU fan, I really mean that I'm obsessed. Like, literally. To prove it, let me just say that I ran across campus last night in order to catch the episode. And it was worth it. I have looked forward to this episode, titled "Behave", since I heard of its conception. And unlike some of the episodes that are purely creative writing, this one had it's base in a horrible truth - the rape kit backlog.

Some background on my dedication to sexual assault awareness. I spent the summer before college watching every Law and Order: SVU episode on Netflix. I fell in love, not just with the characters, but with the issues that the show took on. Before SVU, rape was a taboo, something that just wasn't talked about. Over the course of 12 season, SVU has changed that. One of the lead detectives, Olivia Benson, is played by Mariska Hargitay. She has repeated the story of how she went on to found the Joyful Heart Foundation many times. Most actors and actresses receive letters when they step into the spotlight and Mariska was no different. But instead of getting letters asking for autographs, she had letters from rape victims telling about their assaults for the first time. She founded the Joyful Heart Foundation in 2005, an organization that helps shed light onto the issues of rape, sexual assault, and domestic violence.
One of the pieces of jewelry that I never remove is a gold necklace that's proceeds went to the Joyful Heart Foundation - a small gold plaque with the word "FEARLESSNESS" inscribed on the front. The JHF has quickly become my charity of choice.

This most recent SVU episode is based off one of the JHF's survivors. She was raped multiple times, yet submitted herself to further humiliation by having a rape kit done, a four to six hour procedure, in order to try and catch the rapist. It sat in a police evidence room, never tested. The JHF's newest goal is to end the backlog of rape kits that is prevolent across the nation. Visit End The Backlog to learn more about this issue and how you can help.

By not testing these kits, law enforcement officials are sending two messages. One goes to the rapists, letting them know it is alright to continue committing these truly heinous crimes. The other, more importantly, goes to the victims, telling them that their case is not important. This cannot continue.

First Week of Sophomore Year

My classes are going well, but it's just the beginning since I've only had them twice. This semester I have:

- Criminal Justice System on MWF from 9 to 9:50. By far my favorite class I've taken at college. The first class, we played an intense version of Clue and my group won candy for finding the murderer, murder weapon, time, victim, location, and motive first. The second class was filled with notes about the CJ system, but I can tell you that despite it being at 9am, I have found myself always excited for it.

- U.S. Literature I on MWF from 11-11:50. The professor is a graduate student that doesn't look at all like the typical professor stereotype. She's very off-beat and doesn't like the "normal" English class style.

- Introduction to American Politics on MWF from 1-1:50 and F 8-8:50. It's a large lecture class three times a week and a small recitation once a week. So far, very interesting, especially with midterm elections coming up. The other class, we got into a huge debate about the mosque near Ground Zero.

- Geology of the U.S. National Parks on MWF from 2-2:50. While it sounds interesting, it has become one of the classes I really don't look forward to. We're supposed to be looking at geology by examining various national parks. Mostly we have covered a lot about plate tectonics. I'm starting to get bored and I've only had two classes.

- Psychology of Learning on Th from 4-6:45. It meets once a week for two hours and fourty-five minutes. If I were still interested in becoming a teacher, I'm sure the information would be more exciting. But I'm going to suffer through it for the semester. The time is difficult not only because it's long but also because it runs from 4 to 6:45, also known as dinner time. I was STARVING after class this week.

- French Composition I. I dropped this. I took three years of French in high school, then stopped for two years. When the professor walked in and said that everyone would only speak French, I knew that Wednesday would be my only day in the classroom. Needless to say, I dropped it as soon as I got back to my room.


I also ran my first 5K today with my Mom. We did NOT come in last place and it was my first and longest run I've ever done. It was nice to have someone to talk with.

Sophomore Year.

I moved into my dorm room Friday afternoon and have already found myself bored. I'm here early to help with the First Night we hold for the freshmen on Sunday, but sitting around for two days is not helping me. Here's a picture of my half of the room. There's lots of pink in the room which makes me happy to see since it is both my and my roommate's favorite color. And I love the set up this year - sooo much easier with just two people instead of three!

My roommate had said the room was tiny but it really isn't that bad. We have a balcony that we can use for ourselves and we have a few chairs and a table out there right now. I spent most of the day today out there, listening to music, reading, and watching some freshmen move into the dorm across from ours. I bought my textbooks (except my French ones since I'm not sure if the level is right for me) and found out I had actually bought the wrong edition for one so I'll need to return it tomorrow. One of my classes this semester is Criminal Justice System and, needless to say, it's the one I'm most looking forward to. The textbook looks really interesting and I flipped through sections of it. Lots of law information in it which just makes me wicked psyched!

And to finish this day off, Legally Blonde and Legally Blonde 2: Red, White, and Blonde just came on USA (which I am soooo glad to have back). I popped kettle corn and curled up in my pajamas for a movie night!

Tomorrow, I'm planning on going for a morning run before it gets too humid and making a run up to CVS for ingredients for trail mix to have in the room. In addition, I want to start seriously looking at law schools that might be reach schools for me in addition to surefire ones. It's tough right now since I only have my freshman year GPA and no LSAT scores, but if I can get a rough list, I can add and subtract them once I have more information.

James Bond.

Or, more specifically, Pierce Brosnan. He happens to be my crush of the month. And before anyone says anything, yes, I realize he's 57 and yes, I realize he is married. But who could possibly resist this?

Or even current-day Pierce?



Well, anyway, I've spent all of the past two weeks watching Pierce Brosnan movies ranging from his stint as the world's favorite British secret agent to the title role in the Thomas Crowne Affair (which was the movie to spark my love of PB in the first place). Included are Laws of Attraction, Mamma Mia, and Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. Utterly irresistable in all of them.

Love, love, love.


In other news, I have written out all the titles of books I've read since starting my job at the golf course's phone room. Without including re-reads of old books, I have started and finished about 24 books. Favorites include Suzanne Enoch's Samantha Jellicoe/Rick Addison series to Julia Quinn's newest novels. In addition, I had finished Linda Fairstein's Alexandra Cooper books, probably my absolute favorite author/series yet. I want to be Alex, please and thank you. One-L was probably the only book read for semi-school related purposes.

I'm still not sure if I should be proud or slightly embarrassed by the sheer volume of novels I ripped through this summer.

Disneyland of Law Schools.

Boston College Law School, that is. Apparently, people are actually nice to one another there despite the cutthroat admission process.

Yet another school to add to my list...

8 More Work Days...

The glamor of working in a golf course's phone room has worn off. I needn't say that it was never there to begin with. I have run out of books to read and re-read and playing pointless games on the internet is no longer entertaining. I may never want to see a polo shirt again, which is strange coming from me who loves polos. I never want to answer the phone with a cheerful "Good morning/afternoon, Juniper Hill Golf Course, how can I help you?" ever again.

Needless to say, I cannot wait for August 27th when I can break myself out of the cramped office I have spent every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday since May.


In other news...
I'm still researching law schools. NYLS still looks to be my favorite, but three others have arrived on-scene. They are Brooklyn Law School in Brooklyn, NY, New England Law, and Suffolk University's School of Law, both of which are in Boston, MA. I'm starting to look in Washington, DC as well. The only thing that has remained steady in this search is that I want to study in a city, not in the rural areas that I have grown up and spent my undergrad years in.

Oh What a Night!

New York was amazing!!

The hotel was small, but very nice otherwise. Not nearly as creepy as I thought it would be. Just lots of black and white with gothic touches. Plus, only a block from Times Square! We went to 30 Rock, Radio City Music Hall, the Hershey and M&M stores, and the NBC store, and yes, I bought a Law and Order mug. We had dinner at Ellen's Stardust Diner before heading off to see Lion King. Absolutely beautiful show, by the way. I still tear up during Circle of Life and when Mufasa dies. Wednesday we had breakfast at the hotel and went to the American Girl Place for my cousin. And here was my favorite part of the day: we stopped by the Times Square Information Center and SAW SETH RUDETSKY!!! He's one of the hosts from Sirius XM On Broadway and he's absolutely amahzing. Lunch at Olive Garden before getting on the bus home.

My only complaint was not being able to get down to Foley Plaza to see the courthouses, but we can do that another trip. Especially since I'll need to return to NYC to research law schools and most of them are located near the Financial District.

It Won't Be Long Now.

Next week seems so far away. Monday I have work as usual, from 8-3. Then Tuesday to Wednesday I get to visit NYC!!!! I can't wait to get away from the horrible drivers that surround me on my ride into work, the people I sometimes can't stand at home, and away from my small town. Plus, two days off of work doesn't sound bad right about now. I have a new outfit to wear having decided against the obvious animal print dress I had been eyeing. Instead, we've got a Caribbean-blue cami under a loose white burnout tanktop so you can see the blue through it paired with jeans and my gladiator sandals. The shirts were bought at Lane Bryant, one of my favorite stores. I love being able to shop at the front of the racks instead of the back as usual, plus the clothing, when you search for it, is very pretty and stylish. And speaking of clothes, I have become less than adoring with my polos. I used to love them for the sake that they were casual and could still be dressed up, but after wearing one for a month and a half now, they are quickly slipping from my first choice of shirt. I guess that's like working in the ice cream shoppe and not wanting to eat ice cream after...

Oh, and on a completely unrelated note, I may have a legal internship in Washington, DC for next summer through American University. I still need to make out my resume and get my transcript from school sent, but I got a letter from the Dean that praised my academics and said that with my GPA (3.6 on a 4.0!!), it would be hard NOT to admit me. Fingers crossed that I won't be in this lame office all summer next year. Instead, I'll be in cute skirts working in the Supreme Court, District Courts, the Marshal's office, or the Department of Justice!!!

Books.

Anyone have any decent book recommendations? I've flown through the Linda Fairstein novels (can we all just say I'm waiting for my Mike Chapman to show up?), started reading J.A. Konrath's Jack Daniels series, and just discovered Lisa Scottoline.

But I have the horrible (or amazing) ability to get through a book a week and I could soon be out of those books. I prefer books centered on crime procedurals, be that the police or legal side of things. I've fallen in love with J.D. Robb's In Death series along with, as I've said, Linda Fairstein. Anything along the similar lines would be greatly appreciated!!

Breakthrough!

Today, at work, my grandmother came to visit. She lives about two minutes away from the golf course and my grandfather works there with me. Anyway, we were talking (me ranting, actually) about the miserable pieces of humanity I have to deal with over the phone. Well doesn't she say "And you want to be a lawyer? Talk about the humanity that they deal with!" My heart stopped not from fear, but from semi-joy that someone was taking me seriously!! I reassured her that I'd be on the side of the "good guys," that the humanity would be on the other side of the courtroom.

I was so excited it nearly made what started as a crappy day sparkle.

PS - I love, love, love Linda Fairstein and her novels. Some of the best books I have ever read and I am overjoyed that I decided to pick up my half-finished copy of The Bone Vault during my boredom at work and find myself flying through all of them. Right now, halfway done with Lethal Legacy and cannot wait to get my hands on Hell Gate. It's lovely to be able to see inside, really inside, what life as a NYC prosecutor really is like. Linda is not making this up or trying to remember what the offices looked like from a short research visit. SHE LIVED IT! Such an inspiration and an amazing author. But, she should also sort of get Alex and Mike together. Just saying that with all the sexual tension she has built between them over the series, SOMETHING needs to happen!

An Uphill Battle

That's what trying to convince my parents that I'm serious about law school is. They are still convinced that since I set out for college with the goal of becoming a high school English teacher, that is the only thing I ever should be. Every once in a while, Dad says "Well, we have two of them heading into education," (refering to me and my younger brother who is majoring in Secondary Education and History), but I fight to tell him that while I am still majoring in Secondary Education and English, it is only with the goal of having something to fall back on if law school doesn't work out.

Anyway, I have been frantically swallowing up legal novels. I only just picked up my nearly-finished copy of Linda Fairstein's The Bone Vault and have been swept up in her entire Alexandra Cooper series. In fact, I'm nearly finished with Bad Blood and was heartbroken to find that I am nearing the end of what she has written. To quell the months of waiting after I get to Hell Gate, I have picked up the first book by Alafair Burke and the one book that shows up on every "Do You Want To Be A Lawyer" list - Scott Turow's One L. A co-worker has also pointed me in the direction of John Grisham, a novelist I had avoided since he tends to focus on large firms rather than my area of interest, criminal law, but since I have all summer, I might try a few of his.


I am working at a golf course for the summer, answering the phones to make tee-times. An incredibly unexciting job, but a job nonetheless (hey, I'll take $10 an hour!). Basically, I sit in my own office with a phone, computer, sheets of info on rates and directions to the course, and two or three books. I've gone through a book a week since I started work. I addition to reading, I have had plenty of time to research law schools. New York Law School is still my top choice, followed by NYU and Columbia. My reasonings are as follows:

- NYLS is smaller. While that may seem conterproductive in a society that recognizes the Name Schools (i.e., Harvard, Yale, etc.), I don't want to attend a school where I am a number. NYLS seems to be just the right size. Plus, looking at my GPA (which is sure to change over three years), NYLS looks to be my best bet. Only time will tell with the LSATs.

- Along the same line, while NYU is a top school on all the lists, I've read a few articles about exactly what those lists use for consideration for ranking. While most people will totally recognize the name NYU or Columbia (and probably not the one of New York Law School), do these lists take into consideration something other than the average incoming GPA or LSAT score or whether incoming 1Ls were valedictorians? Somehow, I doubt the answer is yes.

- This point is really moot when I think about it, and yes, it is petty. NYLS is simply closer to where I want to work when I graduate. I plan on spending my days either in a cramped public servant office or in the courtrooms of 60 and 100 Centre Street. Why not take the opportunity to walk to the courtrooms and sit in on a few trials during law school? And yes, I realize that NYU is not that far from the Financial District surrounding Foley Square, but still...


In other news, my younger brother (the one spoken of earlier) graduated from high school on Friday! He is headed off to Westfield State to double major in Secondary Education and History after a long love affair with military history. His girlfriend is going to UMass Lowell for a degree in Psychology. Now, the parents get a break from graduations for two years until my younger brother graduates from his vocational school, then two more years until my sister graduates from high school. By that time, hopefully I'll be in law school!!

New York City.

Honestly, I have been there twice, but I know it's where I want to live for the rest of my life. I went my freshman year of high school with the music department to see RENT on Broadway. Junior year I went with my Mom and sister to see what is legitimately my favorite show/movie ever, Legally Blonde. Both times I have been starstruck even though we ventured no further than Times Square and to the very southern part of Central Park.

Well, I managed to finagle a birthday trip there this summer. My birthday was in March, but my Mom knows how much I love NYC and I am arranging a trip down for the girls in the family (me, Mom, my sister, grandmother, aunt, and cousin). We're going to see Lion King and eat at what has to be my favorite restaurant ever: Ellen's Stardust Diner. The waiters and waitresses all sing as they serve food which I think is amazing. After all, even if they never land that role, they have already sung on Broadway! Unfortunately, the money is a litte tight at home and I'm trying to find all the ways I can to save money. I can cover the tickets for the bus ride down, but the hotel and tickets for the show come out to about $1200.

I never really realized how expensive the city was before. I keep looking for apartments for when I graduate (well in advance, mind you), but I simply cannot fathom paying at least $1000 a month for an apartment PLUS food and everything else on top of that!! Hopefully I can start saving up my money from this job right now and have enough to at least start out in the city or move there eventually.


During this trip I hope to get down to Centre Street and maybe walk by New York Law School and NYU if not pick up some information. Again, it seems like my parents don't believe my sincerity in my urge for law school or they just plain don't want me going, but I hope that if I keep pushing and pushing it, eventually they will see that I am dead serious about this. But just in case I have any more bouts of indecisiveness regarding law school, I'm making a list of books to start finding and reading to see if I really am ready to be a lawyer in real life and not like one on my TV shows.

Ponderings.

While I realize that I have already ranted today (having looked at the length of that rant, I am astounded), I just wanted to jot down my law school hopefuls. I am determined to go to New York City for law school (or grad school if that course wins out). It is literally my favorite city in the world and I've only been twice. But when I'm there, everything seems to fit. I'm tired of living in the country and going to schools in the country. I'm ready for city life where there is always something to do when I'm bored other than go cow-tipping (kidding!).

These are in no particular order:
- New York University
- Columbia University
- New York Law School
- Fordham University

Actually, strike the "no particular order" comment. I love the location of New York Law School. It's two blocks from my favorite Law and Order scene, 60 Centre Street, which is the Supreme Court building for New York County. I'm planning a trip to NYC this summer and I am determined to get down to the southern tip of Manhattan long enough to get pictures of this beautiful building.



While watching the short-lived Conviction (by the same creator of Law and Order), I like to imagine myself walking down those steps. And the inside of the rotunda is gorgeous!

And although I have not taken the LSATs and my GPA is nowhere near being complete, NYLS looks like the best bet for me. I know that Columbia and NYU are both Go-Go Gadget reach schools and I haven't fully looked into Fordham beyond the fact that it is right near the Lincoln Center.

Summertime.

...And the living is easy. Or so the song goes.

I guess it's true, though. I spend my days, 8 to 3, sitting in an office with a computer and telephone. Most of the time is spent on Facebook or playing pointless games or catching up on all that reading lost over freshman year. Plus, the weekly paycheck is not a bad reminder that things could be much worse.

I'm also taking the time to really try and figure out what I want to do with life. I entered college determined to be the 5% that never changes their mind about what they want to do. Entering with two majors in English and Secondary Education was the first step in my goal of becoming a high school English teacher. I had loved reading since a young age and wanted to share that with future generations. It all changed over the summer between senior high school year and move-in day of freshman year.

I spent the summer watching every episode of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. I had never really been into the crime genre until reading a series of books dealing with it and became hooked. Knowing that my weight, which is less-than-ideal for most people, would prohibit me from taking the Police Academy test and passing, I focused on the other half of the title, the 'order' part of things. Alex Cabot become my goal. I wanted to fight for the proverbial "good guys" with my perfectly groomed blonde hair and impeciable lawyer fashion. While I lack the blonde locks from my childhood and haven't quite gotten my skirts and tailored jackets together, the prosecutors are still what I aim to become.

And before anyone points out that life as an assistant district attorney is nothing like what is portrayed on television, I realized that a while ago from simply researching.

Instead of looking for good schools to get a Masters in English, I've been researching law schools. Instead of reading up on the Classics that every good English major should know inside and out, I thumb through "Criminal Law in a Nutshell."

The hardest part is trying to convince my family that I am serious about considering law school. Every time my sister catches me looking into New York Law School or NYU, she has to comment that it won't matter, that I'm going to be an English teacher, not a lawyer. My mother found out when she joined Facebook and saw that, in my profile, I had said I was considering becoming a prosecutor. Somehow, I get the feeling that they don't think I can do it or that I'm blindly following a friend who is also planning on going into law. I wish I could tell them I'm not. I feel a genuine passion for this and even though I still plan on double majoring in both English (which I've heard is a good undergrad degree to start law school with) and Secondary Education (a fall back if anything else), I have added the minors of Political Science and Writing and Rhetoric and I'm currently toying with the idea of a third minor in Communications.

I've been looking for internships for my junior or senior year. Most of them are through the Washington Center in D.C. There's placements in NCIS, the US Marshal Service, the Department of Justice, and the Attorney General's office. When I bring these up with my mother, she seems skeptical about their significance to education and how it would help me become a better teacher. It's as if she doesn't think I am serious about all this when I really want to scream it from the mountaintop that this is the course I want to take in life. I just don't understand why some people are so unsupportive of my goal in life, as uncertain and unlike the person they know it is. Yes, I started as a high school English teacher, but things have changed and what I really want to spend my life doing is standing in front of twelve jurors and argue my case.