How Law School changed my life

Why hello there, my trusty companions and newly found readers! Welcome to another beautiful weekend!

Everyone has something they can pinpoint as a life-changing time, moment, or event.

Growing up with a disability, I had many different life-changing moments from a physical point of view.

However, one of the things that changed my life from a non-physical side was going to Law School.

Here in Australia, Law School is very different from America, let’s say. There is no undergrad school you have to go to first before going into Law School or bar exam (unless you want to practice as a barrister)—instead, it’s three or four years studying law as an undergrad at Uni. Then, to practice as a solicitor, you have to complete a graduate diploma in legal practice, then go and get admitted to the Supreme Court and sign your life over to the court, which is when you get called a lawyer. From there, you apply for your practising certificate; upon receipt, you become a solicitor.

What if I told you that I completed my three years, went on to do an extra year (called Honours year), did my Graduate Diploma but didn’t go on to get admitted as a Lawyer in the Supreme Court, and yet somehow, it completely changed my life?

When I first considered a career in Law, I was in year ten, about 15 years old. It presented me with so many possibilities. A Law degree would open the doors to many different areas, both in and out of the courtroom.

I was in a stage of my life where being a victim of bullying was something I had enough of, and hearing others go through the same, if not worse, bullying than me annoyed me—being a voice for those who didn’t have one empowered me. Also, the lucrative side of Law, especially when climbing the corporate ladder, gave me an extra incentive. I viewed it as a big middle finger to all my bullies and those who believed I couldn’t make it—got to love the mind of your 15-year-old self, hey?

I saw Law as something I could fully involve myself in, and it didn’t depend on my physical abilities to be good at my job. The only thing that my disability would have a hand in was my finding a job. However, I was determined to get into the industry one way or another.

I busted my backside in legal studies in school. I had an excellent legal studies teacher who believed in me and supported my idea of doing a semester at university while I was still in high school.

Many Australian universities have a program where high schoolers can complete a subject of University while still in school and, upon successful completion, are given automatic entry into the study area of that subject.

So, I enrolled in and completed the Legal Writing and Research subject, which guaranteed entry into a Bachelor of Law.

When I left school, I was excited for the next chapter in Law, and I had Pinterest boards of suits, office layouts, and even law firm building layouts. Even as a 17-year-old, I was manifesting the idea of owning my law firm one day.

I went into my first class as a Uni student with some confidence, only to leave that class a sobbing mess on the phone to my mum. I said to her, ‘I can’t do this. Everyone in that class is strong-headed and speaks with conviction. Even the lecturer is intimidating. I am not them. I couldn’t even stand up for myself in the schoolyard. Why did I think I could make it as a Lawyer?’.

My confidence was crushed, and I was one email away from changing to a secondary teaching degree, majoring in legal studies and minoring in theatre so I could be a teacher who taught both legal and drama.

However, something was telling me to stick with Law. It was only a three-year degree, and I was almost a year into it when I considered pulling out.

So, I decided to keep at it and see what happened. I failed my contracts class and barely got my GPA healthily above a four in my first year.

However, after failing class and having a conversation with a friend of mine in the class who had a GPA of 7, I restructured my entire study routine, including how I took notes and prepped for exams.

Writing essays and exam preparation were my strengths and confidence in school. Strangely enough, they gave me purpose. Things started to improve when I found my groove again at University. I did my first mooting competition (a mock court case competition) and fell in love with it. My moot partner and I won our arguments and were tied winners for the contest with another team.

However, the judges decided to award the grand prize, including work experience, to the other team based on their age, as they were students in their 30s and 40s, respectively. As much as I am incredibly competitive and not getting that work experience was disappointing, I realised that I could argue well in a courtroom, and that feeling of defending someone (even if that person was fake) gave me a sense of power and confidence. And this gave me the confidence and belief to continue with my degree.

My grades improved when I found my groove, and I got a 5.3 GPA in my last year of study to get into Honours. 

That power and confidence started to build my ego just a tad, and with it came self-belief and a backbone in which I knew that I could handle myself and any situation that arose.

I got my shot doing work experience in a community legal centre, primarily helping the family and civil lawyers. This eventually became a volunteer role and a paid gig in the intake department for a few months.

I adored that job, and I still miss it at times. At the same time, though, as I reached the end of my studies, I realised that a career as a lawyer wasn’t for me due to safety, my morals clashed with the job, and working 70 hours a week in a job that meant arguing for a system, I realised was broken and having no social life wasn’t my vibe.

However, even though being a lawyer hasn’t worked out, studying law changed my life and who I am.

Aging anyway will change you and mature you, but studying law grew me in ways I never expected.

The quiet, insecure girl who entered her first law class in 2017 graduated as a strong, confident, passionate, loud, and stubborn woman.

It taught me to stand by my values, argue effectively, listen, advocate for others, and be confident in myself overall.

Without that degree, I wouldn’t have had the courage and confidence to start this blog, my business or go to cafes or events alone.

Not to mention, it was the stepping stone to not allowing my disability and societal thoughts over what disability is like to dictate my future, how I see myself and what I can accomplish.

But finishing Law with Honours showed me that I can accomplish anything, and anything I do now will be because I love it, not because I have to. It gave me the confidence to try anything and everything because, let’s face it, I can do anything if I can survive a law degree. Including living a fulfilled and meaningful life even with a disability.. 10 years ago, I wouldn’t have been able to say that. And to think, three years in Law school gave me a new, more positive outlook on life. I will take that over to a fancy law firm of my own any day of the week.

Till next week,

Rhi