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Love & Self Care
Self-care is such a difficult concept because it’s encouraged so much, but there’s such a stigma when attorneys actually state that they need a moment of rest. I’ve cited a million times how attorneys have higher levels of depression and alcoholism than most other professions. Couple that with the high rates of diabetes, heart disease, and other illnesses that Latinos face and many of us are putting ourselves on a path that will be difficult to overcome. What if instead, we knew going into our profession the importance of taking care of our mind and bodies so that we didn’t allow the stressors of the profession to impact us so…
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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…
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Finding a Work/Life Balance: Time Management
Women professionals are constantly bombarded with warnings of maintaining a healthy work/life balance, and I must admit that I’ve also pleaded for this on many occasions. However, for those of us who are the first in our families to enter professional careers, it can be difficult to determine what a healthy work/life balance even looks like. And while it’s hard for any profession, as attorneys we also get a lot of strong signals about what how important work should be above almost everything else. Like, if you’re trying to make partner you can guarantee that you’ll be putting in long hours with little down time; it’s the nature of firm…
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Creating Good Habits in Law School
I’ve never felt a constantly physical ill feeling until I started law school and neared finals. It felt like such a do or die period and I was so 1) completely ignorant of the process and 2) incredibly nervous. I started having a lot of physical symptoms (b/c that’s how I manifest stress) that resulted in making a lot of bad choices because those brought instant-gratification and would quell my stress. But of course, that became a vicious cycle because often that bad choice would eventually make me feel worse–and did little to help my stress. I’m sure many of you who are starting finals are beginning to feel that…
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Stress and the New Lawyer
When you start a new job as an attorney it’s super exciting. Not only are you working at a job that likely pays more than what you’re used to; you are also working as an attorney–hello?! a major goal you’ve accomplished. It’s normal to be excited. But it seems that soon enough that excitement fades and it turns into stress. Yes, you’re being paid more but you’ve got student loans. Yes, you get to be an attorney, but maybe it’s not exactly how you envisioned; plus you’re working hard cases, long hours, in possibly tough atmospheres. How do we handle the realities of the day to day mental stresses? The…
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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…
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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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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…
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Law School like High School: Overcoming the Unhealthy, Competitive Environment
One of the rumors regarding law school is that it’s a lot like high school. Think about it—you have lockers, you have the same schedule as other classmates, you have prom—add high stress, fear, and competitiveness and it’s basically adolescence all over again. Ok, not really but kind of. The reality is that the environment of law school can create a breeding ground for petty behavior. It may seem surreal—you’re working with adults, how can this be?! But human nature is a pretty predictable thing: put a group of people together that have to stop being polite and start fighting for limited good grades and it can get testy. I…
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Summer Series: Delicate Balance of Family, Bar, and Sleep.
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 we hear from Bertha, a law school graduate studying for the Bar, and her advice on staying motivated to study while living with family (in beautiful Nicaragua no less!). I’m Bertha and I just graduated law school this past May after completing the four-year part-time J.D. program at…