Summer Series: Remember Who You Are

Our Summer Series continues! This series highlights different Latina students and law grads as they embark in their summer jobs and/or bar prep all across the country. We hope to provide a variety of work experiences, options for a healthy work-life balance, and general motivation through different guest contributors to help you to take charge of your summer and professional goals!  Today, Kas, a recent graduate of DePaul Law School reminds us of the power that law school gives us and how vital it is to remember our the reason we are pursuing this profession–especially when things get difficult. 

When I was applying for law school, people would say, “good luck girl, I heard law school is hard,” or ask, “why would you do that to yourself?” This gave me weary thoughts walking into my first day of orientation asking myself, “What did I just sign myself up for?” Four years later—I survived as an evening student and a full-time paralegal. I can definitely say that law school was hard but more than anything, it was a challenge. 

Law school challenged my whole life. It changed my whole way of thinking, the way I processed information and even the way I interacted with people. Those of you who are already in law school know what I am talking about and those who are going to law school will soon understand what I am saying. Law school opens you up to a realm that has existed for centuries behind the society we live in; it is the realm that makes the rest of the world move forward. Lawyers play a huge role in society and law school trains you in such a way that you begin to see society differently. You are taught how law began, how it has evolved and how the law has remained dormant. Sometimes you will not understand society and often you will not like what you see; but law school will arm you with the tools, knowledge and courage to make your own influence on society.

Yes, law school is hard, but it changes you in the most beautiful way. It forces you to evolve past obstacles meant to derail you. It forces you to search for your purpose and hold onto it. My advice to those who are at the beginning of their law school journey or are stuck in the rut of it—remember who you are.  Remember yourself when you were young and asking “but, why?” after every statement. Remember the reasons you chose law school and the people who have supported you since the beginning. Remember the moments you felt unstoppable and channel that energy to propel you forward.

This is the driving force behind my resilience and it is the same one encouraging me to continue doing my best as I prepare to take the Illinois Bar Exam in July. Law school is HARD because it CHALLENGES you, but if you remember who you are, the challenge will only make you stronger.