Happy Monday! Today we’re going to continue on with my responses to all of your “Ask Me Anything” questions! If you missed it, last week I answered all of the questions that had to do with living in Charleston, Chicago, where I want to live and where I’d like to travel:
Ask Me Anything – Chicago, Charleston & Travel
Today I’m answering all the questions that centered around law school, a career, and what I want in the future. These were hard to answer!
How did you study when you were in law school?
I’m kind of curious who asked this one – are you in law school or going to go? I’m not really sure how to explain my study habits to people who aren’t in law school, so I’ll try to make it more applicable.
In law school most classes just had one final exam and that was the only grade for the entire semester. To study for the exam I would make up a big outline of the entire semester. From there I would widdle it down from 20 or so pages to about 4 or 5 as a quicker reference to study and have with me in the exam (most classes let you bring study guides you personally made into the exam). Lastly I would both study my outlines and use them to take practice tests. A lot of professors would have old exams or give you example questions. The more you practice the better you’ll be at typing up your answer as quickly and as organized as possible.
What kind of law do you want to practice?
I chose my school (and the school’s I applied to) because it offered an environmental law certificate, which I received while at school. This basically means the classes that I took were environmentally centered. Anyhoo – that’s what kind of law I would like to practice if I practice law… If you’re curious about why I went to law school and my thoughts on it now, check out this post.
If you hadn’t pursued law, what would you be doing?
Um… no clue. Again, read this post. And whatever that is, I might be doing it in the next few years. I’m open to both legal and non-legal jobs, I just want to find a job that I enjoy doing, somewhere that I feel valued and that I’m making a difference.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10? 20? 50?
I could say that I see myself married, I see myself living on some gorgeous ranch out west near the mountains, I see myself with children, I see myself fit and healthy (maybe more marathons? or becoming a yogi?); there are a lot of things I like to envision for the future, but I’ve learned that trying to decide where you want to be in the future isn’t always the best idea.
When I was in high school, I figured by 26 I’d already have a job I enjoyed and that I’d be married. Sometimes it’s best to think about the kind of person you want to be, rather than specific life events or accomplishments. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great to have goals, but there are some things you just can’t control.
I wrote a post this fall about the person I want to be, if you want to check that out. That’s what I see for my future – being the best and most loving person that I can be. I want people to remember me for the positive impact I had on their life, rather than more superficial things.
What is your dream job?
I think part of my problem with wanting to know what I want to do, career-wise, is that I’ve never done anything other than school. I need to get a job, jump in somewhere and try it to see if it’s what I want to do. Sometimes I imagine being an environmental lawyer, sometimes I imagine running a non-profit, sometimes I wonder if I should have just skipped law school and gone out on a research boat somewhere (marine biology major). I just need to get rid of my fear of failing and go for it, and if it doesn’t work, try something else.
But like I said above – my dream job is a job that I feel like I’m making a difference and where I enjoy going every day.
Do you like to envision where you’ll be in 5, 10 or 20 years?
What’s your dream job?