I am feeling a little nostalgic today. Yesterday, my daughter completed her last exam of law school. The last class after four years! She went to law school under the four-year plan because the job market was so bad most of the time that she was in school. She chose to get good work experience during law school and go to school at night. Good decision. One year made a bit of a difference in the market, and she has a great future ahead of her.
So, I should be over the moon, which I am, but I also am full of other emotions as well. Yes, I am the proud mother, the VERY PROUD mother. But, I also have the emotions of a once-upon-a-time young woman law student.
I remember that graduation time can be a time of great celebration but also great insecurity for many law students. If you are one of them, you need to acknowledge that insecurity, deal with it, and overcome it. By all means, don’t be surprised by it, and don’t let it affect your time for celebration.
The truth is that law school is a little bit like a cocoon. Life in law school is fairly predicatable, with firm class syllabi, schedules and deadlines. To make a success of it, law students have to commit themselves, keep up with their studies, work hard and produce good results. There were not that many unknowns in law school— except for the pending bar exam— and the job market, of course. However, no one has figured out quite what to do about that yet.
Then comes graduation, and suddenly, you are dropped into the big and real world. Hopefully, most of you have jobs, but, even if you do, there is a lot of uncertainty involved. Will the job work out? Will I like the people and the place? Will they like me? What if I need to move on? And a million other questions. But don’t let it spoil your good time. You have so much to be proud of right now. Do not rain on your own parade.
Years ago I wrote a children’s book about Choppy the Caterpillar. Choppy was a reluctant and insecure squiggly little thing, and he did not want to come out of his cocoon, not even with the expectation of becoming a stunning butterfly. He had a million reasons why his cocoon was just the place to stay. It was so comfortable, felt so secure, and during rainstorms he did not have to worry about a thing. It took a lot of coaxing by his friends to get Choppy out of that cocoon.
Don’t be a Choppy. Come out of your cocoon—enthusiastically and with confidence. Embrace the unexpected and leave yourself open to change and new possibilities. You do not have to know all the answers and be able to make a flow chart before your career even begins. In fact, you do not want to know too much about your future. It is not nearly as exciting that way.
To all of you law graduates, be happy and be proud. Celebrate your successes and toast your futures. Let mom and dad and grandma and grandpa make a big deal of you for one day without reminding them that you are not a “little kid.” Let them pat you on the head if it makes them feel good. It is their day, too. Act like you are all grown up, because that is what they want to see—even while they are patting you on the head!
Then, put your energies into studying for the bar exam, and leave everything else on hold until the end of July. It is fundamental, Watson. You cannot practice law without a license, so focus on what is most important and leave the job insecurity and uncertainty for later—or maybe NEVER. Maybe, instead, you should just have faith in yourself and know that you are going to be very successful, just as you have been in the past.
Take a lesson from Choppy! Leave the cocoon behind.
