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FearAndAnxiety 24 - 07 Feb 2010 - Main.FranciscoGuzman
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| | When Eben talks about the fear and anxiety created by law school, grades, and dwindling firm jobs, does this resonate with you? How about fear that you won't find something that you are passionate about, that fulfills you, and that allows you to support yourself and your family?
I wished that Eben had spoken more to that fear and anxiety today in class, and more specifically, what to do about it. | | | This is by no means a well thought-out post, but I guess I'm not so much trying to assert anything as I'm wondering to what extent New York in general -- or maybe I should say Manhattan -- and Columbia Law's culture in particular, are responsible for fostering the neuroses that seem to be plaguing several of us. How much of this is law school, and how much of this is this law school, in this place? I think probably a lot. And so it helps to get out occasionally and realize that not everyone, and not everywhere, is so crazy, and that in many respects we spend our days in a pretty parochial place.
-- GloverWright - 06 Feb 2010 | |
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I agree with Ron that the there is an “apparent” seductiveness about working in a big law firm, but as David pointed out, the image they sell is completely false. I worked in one of those firms and my experience was that after working the whole day seven days a week, in which your life is completely controlled by other people, you simply forget why you got there in the first place. I did not have time to do anything else and if I had some free time I was so exhausted that I did not have enough energy to do the things that I used to enjoy.
I know that I am at a different stage in the educational/professional process than the rest of the class (I am “the” LLM in the course), but I believe that the fear and anxiety are still the same. I have to choose what to do with my life now (I can stay here or return to Chile and I have to find a job here or there) and I am terrified about not taking the right decisions. I do not want to look at this moment in the future and to think that I should have done things differently.
My main concern is not about finding a job. I agree with Glover and Jeff that there are many chances for students from a “top” law school as Columbia. My concern is to fall in the stereotype of the lawyer of the big law firm who literally “lives to work”. I am not saying that I want to work little, but I want to be able to have enough time to do the things that make my life meaningful. Among other things, I would like to have enough time to be with my wife and my child (he is 20 months old). I would hate to be an absent father and husband no matter how much money I could make. At the same time, I do want to be a very good lawyer and to make a difference through my work. The problem is that I do not know if it is possible to achieve all that or even if it is doable at all. In the meantime, the anxiety is growing and growing.
-- FranciscoGuzman - 07 Feb 2010 | | | |
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