Tell ‘em

Man, as an actual real life lawyer… fuuuuck this seriously rubs me the wrong way. A lot of non-lawyers have this view it what working as a lawyer is like and ‘oh you get to help all these poor people and live an exciting life’- I used to date a woman who saw me this way and who told her friends that this was what I was like. That is not what being a lawyer is. Even a human rights lawyer, even an asylum lawyer. It’s paperwork; it’s deadlines; it’s stress; it’s often a lack of work-life balance; it’s often NOT making a significant difference to the world because the relevant decisions are made at a policy level. It he didn’t really WANT to be a lawyer (and if he ‘gave up’ that easily then he obviously didn’t) he did himself a favour by not going into law. It’s a tough gig and you sacrifice a lot. A lot. And not all of what you sacrifice is worth it.

My sister thought she wanted to be a lawyer when she was younger, but then after graduating changed paths and went into something else. I have never ever judged her for that. I’m happy as fuck for her. Her life is a lot better now, and in many ways better than mine. And I remember when she made the decision not to send off her firm applications, she was worried about exactly this, that people will see she studied law and assume that she must’ve just failed. I told her, do not worry about that shit. The only thing that matters is you doing what you think is going to make you happy.

Changing your goals is not lacking a desire to live a fulfilling life. It’s mostly just a shifting understanding of what fulfilment MEANS to them.

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