Law School Inertia

I knew I would walk away from the law when I started law school, but I never dreamed it would be this difficult to do.

In theory, law school should be a great stepping stone to becoming a writer, scholar, and teacher. (Is this such a crazy idea? Didn't we think, when we applied to law school, that law is a flexible degree? That the skills taught in law school will help us in any field? That an understanding of the legal process is informative to countless inter-desciplinary areas?)

In practice, we graduate from law school exhausted, slammed with the necessity of passing a bar exam, and laden with debt. The high rate of depression and substance abuse in law school shows that many graduate from law school with serious health problems, as well.

The erosion in confidence makes us more susceptible to the lopsided cultural ideals of the legal environment: the idea that workaholism and ego-mania are badges of honor. The idea that there are only a few, well-trodden paths to "success," and anything that is slightly different is "failure."

We came to law school as intelligent people brimming with potential -- its impossible that we leave law school with something less, but we feel like we are less. It feels like we are only successful if we stay in the hard-earned bubble of law, pedaling the wheels of the system.

Its hard to get into the bubble, and its also hard to get out! But we can. And we must. And we will.