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Skills Beyond Question: Beating the Imposter Syndrome
I have been writing a few pieces outside of this site lately and have been trying to find the guts to make pitches to “bigger” platforms because there’s a voice in the back of my head that questions my ability to write? And to be honest, I would have taken the leap to do more and more writing a year ago, but my fear kept holding me back. I keep thinking that I’m not that good, I have no real training, is my voice even needed? But a few things happened that encouraged me to push myself. Maybe I will fall flat on my face in my attempts to write…
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Meal Prep 101
So like, do other twenty-year olds just stumble into making dinner like I did or is it a more natural process? After I graduated college, I started law school so I went three more years into my adulthood completely unsure on how to eat like a normal adult. Those three years were a whirlwind of evening classes, late night studying, and events that I just didn’t ever think to cook (or had the time to do so). Weeks after the Bar, I found myself married and facing three months of free time as I waited for my job to start in November. I figured I better try to cook since I…
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Breaking Barriers: What’s Your Major?
I’ve received a few questions on what is the right program to major in while in undergrad if your ultimate goal is law school. The great thing about law school is that you can actually major in anything and still get in (assuming you meet all the other criteria, obvi). When I was in school we had a ton of different degrees in my class–from dance, to biology, to a former gynecologist. Of course, there were a ton of poli sci degrees and finance as well. I majored in sociology, but if were to do it again I think I’d consider maybe a double-major in journalism or some other degree that’s…
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Why We Talk About Our Struggles
There was a big back and forth online this week about the discussion that took place between Jessica William and Salma Hayek at some like women in Hollywood retreat. LA Times had a transcript on the event. Essentially, this was a huge, missed opportunity in intersectional feminism. Jessica tried to explain how her identity as a black woman is almost always on the forefront of how people see her and Salma (and Shirley MacLaine [da fuq]) dismissed this as almost silly. On top of also making some statements that seemed to imply programs that are akin to affirmative action are condescending… But Remezcla did a great piece on this situation…
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There is No Try: Last Things To Do Before the Feb Bar
Many of you are just three weeks away from the February Bar. Eeek! This far out you just want it to be over but you also feel like you’ll never know what you need in order to pass the bar. It sucks. At the moment, there is also so many distractions. Every day there seems to be a new situation that demands our attention and/or creates unease about the state of our nation. I don’t envy any you, for realsies, but I am sending positive vibes your way. Here are some things you should keep in mind as you finish your bar studying: One. Be selfish. These last weeks are…
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Breaking Barriers: De-Mystifying the LSAT
We all know that I basically tripped my way into law school. Like, information was so inaccessible when I was applying. I kind of generally knew I had to take an exam, but didn’t really know the purpose or how important it was to the process. So I signed up to take it because a book I read said I should sign up for it in June before my senior year. Then I spent a semester before “studying” for it. Meaning, I had one practice book that I worked on sporadically and that’s it. I didn’t understand that this was not an assessment of how smart I was (like other…
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Is There Anything I Can Do? On White Allies & Their Duty to Act
Because of this site, I keep updated on stats regarding Latinx lawyers and lawyers of color in general. We, Latina lawyers, keep staying at 1.3% of the profession–it’s a neat little trivia fact I like to pull out when I can. The other day I mentioned this to a White colleague who was shocked at the low rate of Latina lawyers. And then she genuinely asked what could she do to improve diversity in the legal field. I talk a lot (a lot) about what our community can do, about what we can do as individuals, not because I think the onus is on us, but because no one is…
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MLK Day: On Resistance
I wish this MLK Day could be more festive. A real celebration of progress and accomplishments, but we are facing a bleak time. I remember attending an event in September about DACA and a panelist kept wanting to talk about this doomsday scenario and everyone–everyone–the other panelists, the audience, we kept laughing it off because it was just never going to happen. And now, groups are scrambling to prepare for the worst: raids, loss of basic rights, the mental, economic, and emotional toil of losing access to healthcare, and just the ever-encompassing fear of all the things that could happen. I am fearful of what this administration will mean to…
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Make the Grade: How to Improve Law School GPA
One of the reasons breaks aren’t so fun during law school is because you’re often waiting for grades to drop. By now, most of those in school have received at least most of your grades for first semester. And the reaction is either a stomach-churning YAY! Or a stomach-churning oh no. Both responses require further action because regardless of how your grades shake out, law school is not a beast that lets you rest on your laurels. But, today I want to focus on those that had the “oh no,” response. You may not be super pleased with your grades because they seem average. Maybe you’re used to rocking it…
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Be a Goal-Digger: Setting and Achieving in 2017
I remember checking my first semester law school grades and thinking, “hmmm, not great.” Surprisingly, I did not have a freak out when my grades were not so fantastic. And although I tried to alter some things second semester, I still didn’t seem to get it. It wasn’t until I completely revamped my studying style that everything finally clicked into place and it was smooth-sailing/dean’s list from then on, thankyouverymuch. But think of all the time I wasted my second semester because I didn’t realign appropriately. Instead, I should have taken the gift of a “fresh start” to make real changes in my study habits. I try to do that…