Work Life Balance
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Two Years Later…
Two years go by so fast that you don’t even notice how things change. I want to take some time to reflect on the past two years (times BC) because I think it’s important and also because, in general, people are so quick to dismiss the trauma and the shift we’ve experienced and that’s not healthy, bestie. First, and most important, there are so many people whose lives were upended because of this illness (to put it lightly). And as a country we’re really quick to overlook the loss of millions of people gone and what that means. I don’t have any solutions on how to make us more empathetic…
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Sidebar: Surviving a Chicago Winter
Happy new year (a month and two weeks late)! It’s so funny because in the fall, I wrote about how things felt a little more normal and then of course the next wave came and put everything back on pause. How much longer is this going to take? Very frustrating. But easing into the year wasn’t a bad thing, it let me really plan out my time and focus on my health a little more. And that was really the theme in January–getting more in tune with how I feel/making healthier decisions. So, I think I mentioned that at my annual the Dr realized I had extremely low vitamin D.…
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My Nightstand Routine
The thing about me is that I love routines. And routines within routines? Omg, forget it! I think the stability of it really scratches some itch in my brain. So of course, I have a nightstand routine that I totally recommend. What is a nightstand routine? It’s simply items I keep on hand that I use before bed but if you’re a night owl, like me, then little things that help my brain underscore that it’s time for sleep help me not just scroll on my phone until 1 am (which of course I never do 😬). Here is what I keep on hand: St. Jane’s Body Serum. This…
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Proud of You! Recognizing Your Accomplishments During Difficult Times
We talk a lot about stress and frustrating aspects about this work or school because it’s important to dissect that and figure out solutions. We’ve also all gone through two really tough years that includes loss in different areas of life. I know it’s easy to end this year by just steeling ourselves for whatever’s to come but I think that would be a slight disservice to ourselves. Instead, I want us to wind down the year recognizing all the great things we accomplished. Ok, caveat, I’m the last person to lean into posi vibes only–I literally wince when we have to do calming techniques or centering exercises during workshops…
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Sidebar: Grateful
This month felt a lot more like the “before times” than ever before and that is a good and bad thing. So the good, because of the booster, we felt comfortable enough visiting my in-laws, which I haven’t seen in a long time. This meant an overnight trip the farm! I haven’t been there in forever and while some things were a little different (no more cows), everything else was like nothing had changed. Good food, E got to play IT expert to make sure his parents stay connected to the internet and it was really nice to get away. It’s hard to describe how calm and quiet it is.…
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Feeling the Pressure: How to Respond to Stress
We talk about stress, burn out, vicarious trauma, whatever you want to call it A LOT. For me, it’s important to discuss what stress and trauma look like in this profession because it impacts not just how much we enjoy the day to day practice but ignoring it can result in real negative physical/mental effects. This has been at the forefront of my mind lately because of a recent incident at work. It was an unusually hectic week and it culminated with an in an incident that caused a huge adrenaline rush (in a bad way). In the heat of the moment, I felt fine and in control. But a…
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Lessons in Success: learning from Justice Sotomayor
Recently, Justice Sotomayor made the news because of a study that showed how the women justices were interrupted more frequently by their male counterparts. I really liked this story because not only did Sotomayor bring it to the attention of Chief Justice Roberts, but Roberts actually changed their process to help address this behavior. I mean I’ll take any victory big and small to celebrate. Good for any change that strikes back at the weird toxicity of this profession. But the rule has just change. What did Sotomayor do before? Did she just let her male colleagues take her time? Not let her make her point? As if. ”I…
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Happy Anniversary! Seven Years of Latinas Uprising
I can’t even believe that Latinas Uprising is turning seven this week! When I hit publish in summer 2014, I had no idea—I could not have imagined—the type of community this would form. All I knew was that I wanted to find other Lawtinas like me and offer whatever support I could. From that grew a community of fierce, engaged, and driven people who work to make this profession better. I’m alway so grateful for everyone who reads this space and for the support and encouragement provided. Seven years went by in a flash! So I wanted to share some of our top posts, those that created dialogue and motivated…
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Side Bar: What a year
I don’t even know where to start. This year was just beyond and I know I’m not sharing any huge revelation here because we’ve all been through it, but I do want to take a moment to just acknowledge what occurred. At the beginning of 2020, I was six months into my new job in local govt and to put it plainly—I was ex-haust-ed! The pace of the work was a huge jolt to my system. And while I felt like I finally was getting it, I was still barely home and barely sleeping. Additionally, there were constant threats that ICE could descend at a moment’s notice—remember when they threatened…
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Lessons Learned During Ten Years of Practice
So, in early November I passed the ten year mark. It doesn’t feel like I’ve been practicing for ten years, but at the same time, I’ve been able to pack so much in the past decade. There was so much happening in early November, I didn’t feel like there was space to discuss this milestone but there is no way I can reach this anniversary and not say something! I thought it would be fun to share some big and small lessons that have made the difference in my career. When I graduated law school, it was at the height of the worst recession (ha!) and no one–NO ONE–in my…