• Law School,  Legal Practice

    Bar Exam: Maintaining Focus

    So, all you bar preppers, you’re really in it now. A full week in, I remember feeling like I didn’t know anything and getting scared sh*tless, just knowing that I wouldn’t pass. The entire summer, other than studying, my main thing was keeping my anxiety at bay. And I didn’t always succeed. It was rough. For some, this will be the big barrier you face this summer. The emotional toll studying for the Bar takes on you. There’s a constant barrage of thoughts: what if I don’t pass; how will I earn a living; am I wasting my time; how can I overcome the pain if I fail? It really…

  • Work Life Balance

    Juicing: Easy Green Juice Breakfast Options

    I’ve mentioned before how I used to not eat breakfast for like ever–I just was never hungry in the  mornings, but that’s like the worst thing to do. A few years ago I started making smoothies, which were filling but still filled with lots of sugar due to the flavored yogurt and bananas. Then about a year ago, friends and I did a cleanse together that was more to just do something together.  The cleanse consisted of green juice in the morning and I became a convert.  Many think that in order to juice you have to use a juicer, but I think it’s better to use a blender so…

  • Law School,  Legal Practice,  Work Life Balance

    Get Rid of Stress in Ten Minutes or Less

    If you follow me on Snapchat (and you should!) you saw that this week I had a crappy morning-so bad that I went off my regular tea-only schedule and bought myself a latte to feel better. I know that indulging in bad calories is probably not the greatest thing to do, but sometimes we just need the comfort, tu sabes. Anyway, I had a semi-hectic week (it got a lot better), but when combined with the anxious vibes I could feel from the soon-to-be attorneys studying for the February Bar, I found myself a little stressed out.  It made me think that it would be a good idea to share…

  • Legal Practice,  Work Life Balance

    The Importance of Self-Care for Attorneys

    Today is a perfect day to talk about trauma and self-care. Vicarious trauma occurs from exposure to other people’s trauma. We usually think of ER doctors, counselors, police, and other first responders as professions that are likely to experience this, but lawyers are also susceptible and do experience vicarious trauma as well. And how could we not when we help clients almost always in their darkest time of need. If you practice in an area that has a real human component, then you generally are exposed to sad, traumatic stories. But it’s the dirty secret in this profession, and we’re supposed to act like nothing affects us. Those that admit…

  • Law School,  Work Life Balance

    Brain Food: Easy Lunch Options for Law Students

    Happy Labor Day! I wish I was on a beach, but I’m actually getting a head start on work. womp womp. I was talking to a friend recently about all my missteps in law school and one of them (as I’ve mentioned before) is how bonkers my eating habits became. My school was located right near Michigan Ave, so it was full of so many dining options that it became easier to just purchase lunch rather than make something every day. Of course, I thought I was being smart by getting tuna sandwiches (brain food, right? lolol) completely ignoring the fact that it was laden with mayo, like wtf was…

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  • Legal Practice,  Work Life Balance

    Rules and Limits as you Practice Law

    It’s no secret being an attorney is tough. Most often, clients need you at their most worst: accused of crimes; financially destitute; dealing with divorce; scared of immigration; angry with neighbors, employers, former friends. The list goes on and on. For most Latina lawyers, we practice in these emotionally heavy areas, and all attorneys working in these high stress areas experience what’s called vicarious trauma–a sort of second-hand stress from these stories and interactions.  It’s a dirty secret that we don’t talk about for fear of seeming weak or unable to advocate like all the other attorneys who seem to be cool with what they’re hearing.  But other attorneys experience vicarious…

  • Work Life Balance

    Healthy & Easy Coffee Alternatives

    No I’m not crazy—I’m very certain everyone in law school will have/has increased their caffeine and sugar intake during school. I’m not really anti-coffee. Coffee by itself has a lot of benefits, but if you’re like me—it’s not the coffee but the sugar and cream that makes it unhealthy. I also try to limit my coffee-intake because I don’t like being the type of person that can’t function without some type of substance. I have enough vices and don’t need to add one more, you know?       In the last year, I felt like I was drinking (and buying) too much sugary coffee and decided to stop what…

  • Law School,  Work Life Balance

    Brain Food and the Bar

    Ok so it’s almost impossible to balance a healthy lifestyle while you study for the Bar.  I mean you can try, but more often than not you’re going to opt for comfort and ease during these times.  Your best bet is it try as much as you can at the beginning of bar prep to maintain some form of healthiness so that when you’re in the last few weeks of prep hell you haven’t yet completely spiraled out of control.  With that in mind, you can’t ignore how the food you eat affects how you feel and your level of energy.  And while you don’t have the luxury of time to…

  • Law School,  Work Life Balance

    Stress Relief while Studying for the Bar

    When I say that studying for the Bar is stressful–I am not joking.  It’s not just the anxiety of the unknown, or because so much is riding on the exam.  Most people never experience this type of environment, where you’re memorizing and learning so much information in such large chunks of time; where suddenly you’re putting your mind through a horrible obstacle course of vague terms and complex legal theories.  And closer to the exam you’re studying 12 to 14 hour days.  That is crazy-pants.  I don’t even work for 12 hours a day! I say all this, not to freak people out, but to acknowledge the high stress you’re feeling.…

  • Issues,  Work Life Balance

    Bend Don’t Break: Yoga

    There are obviously cycles during school and work when things are very busy.  I remember that in my last semester of law school I didn’t have a free Saturday until the end of March.  That meant I was going full steam for 6 days a week and then having to do all my readings on Sunday.  It was intense and stressful, which lead to stress-eating.  But really, I was stress-eating from the moment orientation started.  During law school, I gained probably around 40 pounds.  It was not good; not just for my self-esteem, but for my actual health.  Diabetes and heart disease run in my family–like in many Latino families,…