Onto the Next Adventure

This summer was different. No, it did not include traveling to somewhere foreign and exotic. It did not involve an exciting music festival. It did not involve a grand exciting thing. Rather, this summer marked the end of one adventure and the start of another.

On the morning of July 21, 2017, I woke up thinking, “Today is the day.” It was the last day at the boutique law firm that I had worked at for the last two years since graduating from UCSB. It had been two years of hard work and eye-opening experiences. It had been two years learning to work with clients and collaborate with legal and medical professionals. It had been two years of working for my boss and truly learning from her what it meant to be an ethical, hard-working, and compassionate attorney. It had been two years of learning that a career in the legal field was one that I wanted to pursue and that it was a community that I wanted to be a part of. More than anything (and honestly, as cliché as it sounds), it was two years of really cultivating my interests, dreaming, and growing. It was the end of the adventure of navigating through the ins and outs of professionalism and stepping foot into the legal world.

On the afternoon of July 21, 2017, I walked out of my office with a hint of hesitation and reservation. Coming to this office and sitting at my desk had become my routine and my daily expectation. I was so used to picking up the phone to check-in on the clients I had gotten to know over the course of my employment, meeting with my boss to touch base on projects and issues, and chatting with my co-workers and neighbors upon passing. Was I really going to give up what was comfortable, safe, and normal only be thrust into the intimidating and high stakes world that is law school?

After all the goodbyes had been said, I sat in my car for a while staring at the building. I grew up here. I faced challenges like dealing with frustrated clients, receiving and accepting constructive criticisms, learning the procedures of Workers’ Comp, studying for the torturous LSAT, and even anticipating my decision letter from Loyola. I had also faced triumphs during my tenure here like buying my first car, getting my first acceptance letter, and waving goodbye to my LSAT textbooks. As strange as it sounds, the building with all the little offices, businesses, and people inside had become a community that I had relied on for the last two years of my growth and development.

But I realized that it was time to turn the page on this chapter. I had learned everything I needed to prepare me for my next adventure, and I was ready for all that law school would present. So I pulled out of the parking lot on that day with the end of my first legal position in my rear view mirror and the promise of a new adventure at Loyola before me. Onto the next adventure.