Fortunatus Realizations - September 5, 2007

This is a long one, but it is my favorite yet...

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I have acquired an old napless hat which had the power of transporting me to any place I desire. My hat is taking me to those places most of my peers would rather not travel.

I was engaged by very few Undergraduate classes, namely those that challenged my beliefs or made me explore subjects that were otherwise unfamiliar but very influential in my life. These classes were those that I had, in many cases, walked into with a very apprehensive attitude. Religion as a Polemic, Urban Politics, Religion and Health, and (somehow) Journalism found its way onto my radar.

I have not before been engaged in schooling that is interesting in totality. Professional school (or Graduate School) is the fruit years of my efforts. Though my chosen field and path has changed, the goal has been the same since third grade: to be able to launch a career having received a quality education. First piloting multi-million dollar aircraft dropped off the radar followed by the flat-lined dream of attending medical school to pursue sports' medicine (which I had quite a knack for in high school). Law I believe, however, has very deep roots dating back as far as I can remember.

I was pawned-off on my father that day, perhaps, because my mother was working or my brothers had better things to do than watch me. Regardless, the experience I gained with my father would be the first of many, but made me proud. Having dressed myself in the appropriate accoutrement (slacks, a dress shirt, black shoes and my best clip-on tie) I exited the car and promptly attended to the duties I had so reliantly been entrusted: the transportation of my father's briefcase into the court house.

As my Knight would greet other attorneys, I was introduced as his Squire. I was proud to be lugging this box of sliced tree. My father, dragging me along to court, was probably encouraged by the fact that I was of some use, but, more importantly, this was my first role in the legal world of which I have a memory.

My competitive nature is so heightened, as so many people who have only met me would concur, that I have planned for my career since third grade. Having actual plans for your life is not usual for an eight-year-old. I knew what I needed to do to get myself into the necessary classes that would propel me to my chosen college, which, in turn, would set me up for career success.

In addition, I was forever the resume' builder. My parents once told me that they would boast that, by Middle School, I had somehow filled a resume' three pages in length. It occurs to me that it was impressive at the time to even have a resume', but that was just my planning.

In accordance, I have studied more in the last two weeks than my entire undergraduate education combined (minus the writing of my theses). I realize that this work is all-for-nothing if I am not engaged in my work, completely. I want to be a great attorney, and reaching the standard of "good" is hard enough in itself.

Like any other child with a set of amazing parents, I strive to be like my mother and father. Having chosen the profession of my father, it follows that he is the gold-standard of what I wish to be. So, with his actions and words stored in my head, I entered my studies. I constantly remind myself of things said in passing, perhaps on the way to a meeting or a sports practice. I remember him explaining two distinct measures of his professional career, however minute they may be in the grand scheme.

The first is his love of pursuing legal malpractice cases, once stating that there is nothing better than suing bad attorneys. I once believed that he just disliked lawyers who were careless (or worse) in the performance of their duties. I now realize that the profession is tainted by the few bad attorneys who get the attention, while the good attorneys are just par for the course. You do not make the news if you do as you should, you are a headline for being 8-strokes over. I want to be Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson; they always make the cut, and usually are at the top of their game.

The second lesson in life was the lack of an attorney friends in my father's Rolodex. It is seemingly awkward that he is without a friend in his given profession. But, I am understanding increasingly more why it was such. I am finding myself to be the "black sheep" of the group I befriended. The persons with whom I associate constantly ask me why I study so much. I am called up-tight, and was told today that other than my consumption of oats (and other eating habits, read: vegetarian), I do not fit the California stereotype. I inquired what said stereotype entailed and was told that I need to surf, be more optimistic and less "uptight". I told them that the surfing part is correct, but that they obviously do not know me.

I guess I just have a different set of priorities: I enjoy going to bed before 4am, I like to be able to produce quality work, and I value the investment of being without a life during law school in exchange for a comfortable life for the remaining years I live (if law school does not kill me first).

I guess it is characteristic of me to invest all my time in everything I undertake. Having been given a very clean slate, (removing the sports, clubs, work and other extra-curricular ventures) the only thing I have is school. And, more than anything, it has become a priority for me. Whether others understand me matters not.

Could have I foreseen my present state of affairs? Such a thought would have been laughable. But, it is time for this Squire to draw the sword from the stone, and become a knight. My goals have forever been the same. I want to do the best and be the best, and that takes a lot of work.

So, with Fortunatus' hat I travel to the world of law, totally immersing myself in the field of lawyering, with the hopes of learning a thing or two. Many obstacles will I face, but an adventure, nonetheless, this shall be. Whether I travel alone or with my peers is for each of them to decide. I choose the gold-standard, and of no consequence will the thoughts of others be in my quest.

The sword is awaiting removal. But, the sword will only go to he who has earned it. Being "par for the course" is for someone else.

As they say: "If this was easy, they'd call it Med School."


Things I Think About, And Perhaps You Should, Too:
- My parents were married at my age. Whoa!
- I have no idea who is reading this.
- Parking is a problem. Still.
- My criminal law professor actually stated that I was correct after answering a question today. Validation is intensely good.
- I have lost all time and will to befriend new people and, sadly enough, talk to old friends. My life is consumed with books.
- Posting your disdain as a "status" on networking sites can be annoying.
- "Books." This can actually be a state of being.
- If you lay in bed thinking about what you studied while trying to fall asleep, you could actually have better spent such time studying. If you think about the intricacies of the circular nature of that previous statement while you are laying in bed trying to go to sleep, you wasted time that could be better spent thinking about what you could study. -- This is my life.
- Learning new vocabulary that is not really part of the English language, yet is still considered vocabulary is more fun than it sounds. (Tortious, tort-feasor, and my favorite: "trespassory", are among a selection of many.)
- I want to wear a bow-tie to court once.
- Being too lazy to grammar check your writing is not good when you are about to undertake your first legal writing assignment.
- Michelle and I broke out into song before criminal law. The Beatles never sounded so poor.
- I am, apparently, a party-pooper. I wish I could be constipated at this party, but alas, law school has me on a strict fiber-enriched diet of "no life".