By: Archiebald Faller Capila
Law school is always about planning.
Ever since you were a kid, you have dreamed of the day you would enter the sacred halls of your dream school. You would imagine yourself exchanging thoughts and knowledge pertaining to a legal concept. You would think of yourself as a legal expert who can change the world with your brilliance and charisma. You would tell yourself that you will breeze through the impossible and graduate from law school, take the Bar exams, and eventually become a lawyer. Indeed, it has always been a plan since day one.
There are many reasons why one would want to become a law student. For some, it has always been a childhood dream because they have parents who are engaged in the legal profession. They look up to their elders and say to themselves that one day, they would also follow their footsteps and eventually become a member of the same profession their parents are engaged in.
For some, it has been a dream since the first day they saw in the movies or in a series the brilliance of characters playing the roles of lawyers or paralegals. They would admire the wits these characters possess and they would eventually want that same kind of attention in the future. Although the movies and the series portray only fictional characters, they still capture the essence and core thought of the people engaged in the legal profession.
Accordingly, some people would say that the dream to enter law school came a little later in their journey in primary and secondary education. For some, people saw in them the potential to be great writers and speakers. Some would also say that a person’s analytical and memorization skills are off the charts that these are simple indicators that they are fit for the study of the law.
Whatever the case may be, it all starts with the idea that you could enter law school. You believe in such idea and believe that you can in fact be a future law student and a future member of the Bar.
Then comes the planning stage. You inquire about some of the requirements you need to enter law school. You research some of the schools that offer a law curriculum. You compare and contrast the fees therein and look for notable alumni in these aforementioned schools. You then look at the passing rate, the credibility of such institutions, and the feedback from previous students who went through the process of these schools.
After which, you take the entrance exams and hope for the best in your journey. After weeks of waiting, you will receive a confirmation that you eventually passed the exams and you are qualified to enroll for the upcoming academic year. With pride and joy, you tell your family and friends about the good news. You finally got a chance to prove to yourself and the people who believe in you that you can become a lawyer sooner than later. At last, your dreams are coming true. At last, your plans are going smoothly according to how you imagined it.
However, the law school offers a different note. While there may be a lot happening in the planning stage, the study of law requires a different approach. Indeed, you imagined yourself breezing through the college of law for four years and eventually graduating and taking the Bar in the process. But, as it turns out, destiny has a different plan for you.
There are a lot of external circumstances that affect a student in his or her pursuit of the law. More often than not, law students fail to meet the bars they have set for themselves. A lot of factors affect their preordained and predestined plans for themselves. One way or another, they get derailed or even get delayed along the way.
Nobody ever said that law school will be easy. However, nobody ever said that law school will be this hard as well. Indeed, law school is a different animal. It presents itself as a place for the best and brightest. In reality, however, law school is and will always be a place wherein your limits are tested to the best extent.
In law school students may suffer a failing grade or a failing subject. A student will then realize that he has been delayed for a semester. In the long run, he or she will realize that it turned out to be a year or more of delay. Nonetheless, these students keep on fighting. These students continue to work hard and try to reach their respective goals of becoming Juris Doctors.
Some say failure is a part of law school. Some say that before one person is able to succeed in the pursuit of the law, he or she must experience the rigors and failures law school has to offer. However, as simple as these may be, these are not easy to digest for some students who have planned their ways into becoming graduates of the law.
Law students are expected to graduate whenever they enter law school. However, it is not always the case because a lot can happen in their pursuit. These things, whatever they may be, always happen for a reason.
To all the students who have been delayed in law school, may you keep the faith and continue to move forward. To all the students whose plans have been derailed, may you continue to fight for your dreams.
Doubts will always linger whenever a bad thing happens in the study of law. Students begin to question whether or not the study is in fact for them. They become so hesitant in continuing their journeys because of several setbacks.
May you always be reminded that everything happens for a reason. These failures are not failures per se. They serve as lessons that will eventually make you a better person. These failures serve as the foundation that strengthens your will into becoming a future officer of the courts. These failures will serve as a reminder that you are human too—and that being human makes you stronger than ever.
Getting derailed in law school is not the end of your journey. It simply serves as a new chapter in your current venture of becoming a lawyer. May you continue to be great by removing all your doubts on whether or not the study of law is for you. May you always be the best version of yourself and continue to work hard and persevere for your dreams.
To all the students who may be reading this, good luck in your respective journeys. We are with you all the way. We are proud of what you have accomplished and what you will accomplish in the near future.
Claim it. Your destiny is yours. You will become a lawyer sooner than you think. Congratulations in advance and good luck on your journeys!
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