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!
Monday, June 21, 2010
Monday, June 14, 2010
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!!
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!!
Friday, June 4, 2010
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.
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.
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