Welp, today officially wrapped up my last official day working at the legal clinic…for the next three weeks (LOL). I’ll be back, but I know when I return for my fall classes it’ll be to a much lesser degree and not the 10-12 hour hustle days I was pulling in.
It’s weird-no classes, not really any work (barring one case I potentially took in today), and not a whole lot to do. I listed like 50 things with my sister on our online stores and already sold something that went off in the mail this afternoon.
I kind of feel like a spinning top, constantly moving without any real direction, at least for right now. In my free time I’ve filled my hours perusing various kickstarters (where I proceeded to buy my weight in ice cream and exercise devices). I should also try and organize my room, as half of it has been relocated elsewhere in the house to accommodate a recent window replacement (to cut down on the noise outside my room). Only time will tell if that endeavor was actually worthwhile.
In the interim, my yoga pants are scattered about the house and it’s like a hunt every time I need to find something. This summer has been a whirlwind, bouncing back into a junior version of law school like I had never left. The class I took was extremely taxing, and I’m not so eagerly anticipating how the final turned out-here’s hoping I (more than) passed. Then there was the clinic, dealing with clients who both made me cringe and literally cry. I wanted to help more than we feasibly could, because for one reason or another, we couldn’t solve everyone’s problems.
I started off the summer thinking it was going to be easy, as I closed almost five cases my first week, my favorite of which was an older gentleman who no longer needed our help because all of his paperwork had turned up. Then there were the cases I had to make the dreaded phone calls to, telling them we couldn’t help and we really didn’t have a guaranteed referral who could, barring some other local non-profits.
This summer tested my patience in the best ways possible. I had to figure things out on my own when my boss was away. I had to deal with clients who talked my ear off and some, who called me names. I had to learn a whole facet of the legal field I knew very little about prior to May…but I did it, or at least I feel like I have.
I feel like I’ve grown leaps and bounds this summer. I’ve worked closely with my dog to hone in his training skills. I’ve worked with my doctors to get my conditions more under control (albeit I do myself no good ordering gallons of ice cream when I’m both lactose intolerant and can’t really stomach that much dairy with my other conditions like IBS and the acid reflux).
I didn’t think that I’d be saying I’m happier now than I thought I could be looking ahead to law school in a few weeks. I definitely think I need like a year’s vacation from this summer, but I’m confident I can plow through the next two years and the Bar exam after that without much hesitation. That’s not to say it won’t be difficult, but I think I’m ready for the challenge as long as I don’t overdo it on my end, as in add extra graduate programs or extraneous responsibilities to my plate.
I’ve definitely got some old lady problems where my only worries for the next few weeks are doctor appointments and deciding which books I’m going to read.
Breathing some of the deepest sighs of relief I’ve had in a long time…
Until Soon,
kissed.with.a.quip.
