Wednesday, July 07, 2004
Brain in Overdrive
So over the weekend -- the long weekend, I might add -- I suddenly got this hairbrained idea that I wanted to go to law school. I shocked myself and my husband. He suggested that I take a legal writing class or two (in a paralegal program or something) to see if I actually would like law. So I spent most of Monday surfing around to see who offers classes like these and when and how much they cost and whatnot. (ACC does, they're cheap, and they're all at night.)
But here it is, two days later, and I don't think I want to anymore.
The snob in my brain says I should just go to law school, period. Get that graduate degree, whether I use it to practice law or not. The law degree is sort of perfect because it doesn't require a strong background in any particular discipline.
The practical side of me says law school in the next three years is sort of impractical, since B is planning to go back to school next fall. The practical side says I should just not worry about graduate school and try to find something I love for a career.
And the frugal miser deep, deep inside me says I should just get a paralegal certificate so I can get a higher-paying job so I can put my husband through grad school -- and then, after working with lawyers for a few years, I can decide if I really want to get a law degree.
And all of this is sort of weird and sudden for me and I am not sure where it came from.
Part of me thinks it's just that itch I get when I've been in a job for a little while -- long enough to see what it's going to be like, but not long enough to really grow comfortable in it.
Part of me thinks it's that I see myself in a rut, now that I am married and a homeowner, and the answer to getting out of the rut is more education.
And the most honest part of me thinks it's a fear reaction. Fear of the unknown looming over the year's horizon. We could be moving out of state, selling our house, selling a car or two, leaving a comfortable social life. And my gut reaction is to make that transition easy and smooth and one of the ways I know to make transitions easy and smooth is to throw money at them.
Because, I must admit, I would be a terrible lawyer.
But here it is, two days later, and I don't think I want to anymore.
The snob in my brain says I should just go to law school, period. Get that graduate degree, whether I use it to practice law or not. The law degree is sort of perfect because it doesn't require a strong background in any particular discipline.
The practical side of me says law school in the next three years is sort of impractical, since B is planning to go back to school next fall. The practical side says I should just not worry about graduate school and try to find something I love for a career.
And the frugal miser deep, deep inside me says I should just get a paralegal certificate so I can get a higher-paying job so I can put my husband through grad school -- and then, after working with lawyers for a few years, I can decide if I really want to get a law degree.
And all of this is sort of weird and sudden for me and I am not sure where it came from.
Part of me thinks it's just that itch I get when I've been in a job for a little while -- long enough to see what it's going to be like, but not long enough to really grow comfortable in it.
Part of me thinks it's that I see myself in a rut, now that I am married and a homeowner, and the answer to getting out of the rut is more education.
And the most honest part of me thinks it's a fear reaction. Fear of the unknown looming over the year's horizon. We could be moving out of state, selling our house, selling a car or two, leaving a comfortable social life. And my gut reaction is to make that transition easy and smooth and one of the ways I know to make transitions easy and smooth is to throw money at them.
Because, I must admit, I would be a terrible lawyer.
