Decisions, Decisions

These days, the hardest decisions I have to make are along the lines of deciding if I should read for constitutional law or should I read for property; if I should stay in the library longer to study or catch the next bus; if I should grill or bake my chicken for dinner. I lead a pretty simple life.

But in all the spare time that I have, I've also assumed the role of life /college counselor. It's that time of year again: time to decide where to go to school. Over the past few weeks, I've had dozens of friends and even acquaintances seek advice of where to go to law school or other types of grad school. And I was giving my tour yesterday, I had half of dozen admitted students grilling me so they could figure out if they should go to American or some other school they were admitted to.

It's always such a hard decision, which is certainly something I don't need to remind the advice seekers of. But it's also highly individualized. I always just tell people to consider things like environment (both weather and the school's student atmosphere), what fields they're strong in, what programs they offer, where the school is located. That might be the "duh" answer but hopefully people are thinking about all these things and not basing a decision off of a single thing like rankings (that always makes me cringe).

And in the end, choosing where to go to school is an important decision, but it's not the end all be all. No matter where you go, in one year you'll be sitting at a desk deciding whether to read your constitutional law or property book. And though I think my law school suits me very well, it's also because I sought out and took advantage of what suited me well. Everything is what you make out of it.

The Call

Today, a large portion of the 1L class sat by their cell phones at 1pm. Many were in the library, some others took their phones with them on errands to keep themselves preoccupied. 1pm-5pm was time frame we were told they would be making the calls.

The call that each of us was waiting for was a call from one of the school's four law journals, offering us a junior staff position. The selection is based on the write-on competition that I've mentioned many times in here. After sacrificing our Spring Breaks to read 500 pages of materials and write a 10 page comment with probably some 40 citations, we just wanted our phones to ring today. Only law school people, law review people, are evil enough to do this on Friday the 13th.

Out of all days, I happened to sign up to give a tour to admitted students today during the time slot. I thought it would be rude to keep my phone on so I grudgingly turned it off and put it in my pocket.

At 1:15pm, there was a small break so my group could use the restroom after lunch so I checked my voicemail. One new message. Could this be it? It was Alex and it was probably the only time I ever was sad to hear his voice as opposed to some random person. As I finished the really fun tour at 2:30pm, I quickly went to check my voicemail again. One new message. And it was it.

I got an offer to be on the Administrative Law Review. That means I'll be writing a 60 page paper over the summer and obligated to a few hundred hours doing citation checking (I'm not exaggerating), but it's also the opportunity to work on a prestigious journal. Law Reviews are the coveted activity in law school that law firms regard very highly because of the reading and research skills involved.

I'm still in shock that I made it onto one. I wanted to celebrate but at the same time I felt really bad for many of my good friends who didn't make it on. I didn't know what to say or what I could say, but my roommate and I took them out to dinner and icecream; I hoped that helped a little.

The whole process is like college admissions process where so many talented people apply, you just don't know what the selection committee is looking for or why some amazing people don't make the cut. Sometimes it's luck of the draw and sometimes it comes down to little tiny things. It's hard to judge a person's writing capabilities based off a short submission where everyone writes on the same topic but I don't really know of any other way to do it. Once again, like college admissions.

I think I'll celebrate with some sleep. Best reward.

AA, Not the Anonymous Kind

At law school, there is naturally a lot of debate in and out of class. But by far, the most hotly debated subject this entire year was our class' debate on affirmative action. Very strong opinions on both sides. Even though our school is quite liberal (and even conservatives tend to be more libertarian- and hence didn't really debate abortion that much), affirmative action even splits young liberals. Everyone has an opinion on this because more than any other issues, affirmative action relates/related to us directly.

I'm personally a political nerd because I feel like all political actions impact us some way, but I can see why affirmative action hits closer to home to every single student sitting in our classroom. We all come from very different backgrounds but the one thing that we've all been through is the admissions process.

Personally, I don't know what I think anymore. I've definitely been back and forth on this issue and the more I read about the affirmative action debate, the more I can understand the very valid points on both sides. I lean towards the Supreme Court's current decision, but I still feel like I need to learn more about the admissions process in general. There is definitely no easy answer and it always makes things tougher/more interesting when you're dealing with kids educational opportunities. This is why I'm really excited for my higher education law class.

Registration Anticipation

You know how the waiting on Christmas Eve used to be more exciting than Christmas itself; yeah, that's how it is with class registration and actual classes.

My favorite part of each quarter at UCLA was trying to put together a schedule for the following quarter. It was always so much fun finding out what classes were being offered (especially when you're a nerd like me who loves learning about new subjects) and carefully crafting amazing schedules. Whereas some people at UCLA orientation were freaked out when they were put in that big room with all the schedules, I was so excited and I put together like 5 alternate plans in different color codes. Class planning is a great way for me to put my uber organization skills to work.

Things haven't changed much. After attending multiple panels and info sessions last week about what types of classes to take, I had a lot of fun this weekend putting together different schedules with a grid and different color post-it notes.

It can be a somewhat complex process if you're a planner like me. Even though we're only required to take Crim Pro in the Fall and Ethics in the Spring, in your planning you also have to consider taking classes that will help you pass the bar, classes that will help you narrow down the field of law you're interested in, and classes that fit together both logistically and unit/balance wise. There's so many variables to consider...it's like...a LSAT logic game!

So despite minor setbacks and last minute changes, here is what will most likely by my Fall 2007 Schedule courtsey of my wonderful early registration slot:

• Criminal Procedure (required, and I was lucky enough to get allegedly the best prof)
• 1st Amendment (because it's taught by my current con law prof who I love, and the subject is incredibly interesting)
• Higher Education Law (since I might want to go into this area of law and it's also fascinating)
• Federal Personal Income Tax (because well-rounded lawyers take this class, I really need to know more financial stuff, and I heard it's more fun than people think)

Hopefully these classes will be half as fun as the planning stage was.

Mean Girls & The Sisterhood

A few days ago, I was debating whether I was reinforcing gender stereotypes by making a different type of Easter basket for my female cousin than her three other male cousins. Later that day I heard moms talk about differences they've seen in observing boys and girls interacting withi one another. Today I'm reading about gender classifications and equal protection in my constitutional law casebook.

It's interesting to think about what differences between males and females are biological and what differences are influenced by environment. Though I've never taken a class on gender and women's rights have never been my primary cause (I do still consider myself a feminist though), I do seem to think about this a lot.

Right off the bat I will state the obvious and say that there is male-based discrimination against females. The fact that some judges will not let female lawyers walk into the courtroom with a pantsuit, as opposed to a skirtsuit, is ridiculous. Naturally there are more serious issues, like equal pay, but they're a little more contentious.

And I will also concede that there is discrimination against males by both males and females. From societal discrimination of males being nurses or flight attendants to more institutional discrimination like requiring men to pay alimony but not women if they are working and their ex-husband is not.

But I feel like something that never gets addressed is women holding each other back. I've thought about it before (and maybe even wrote about it) but what made me think about it again was when I was at Easter dinner and the mom's were talking about how vicious girls are to each other. They were talking about how 8 year old girls would talk behind other girl's backs because they didn't have the right color Ugg boots, and how the girls would try to spread rumors to the boys about other girls.

I'd like to say the females grow out of this but I just don't know. It seems like everyone can relate to the movie "Mean Girls." Moreover, cliques and exclusivitiy aren't just reserved for the popular girls, it happens at all levels of the female social totem pole. What goes on amongst 8 year olds on the playground hardly seems different than what happens in the halls of high schools, the dorms of college, and at the law school.

Beyond that, I cannot speak from personal experience but it seems to continue. I remember at a women's networking tea the well-established female lawyers were talking about how unfortunate it was when young female lawyers would compete simply against each other, almost accepting the fact that the number of female positions in law firms was set in stone; like there was a quota for the number of successful females.

I think like any group who has been historically oppressed, women first need to help each other out. And I guess the first step in that for me is making more female friends since I've always gravitated towards befriending males. Because really, I just want to see some more gender equality in my lifetime and a female President would definitely be a bonus.

Two Weeks Notice

Putting in my notice that there are only two weeks left of class and then after that, finals. Where this semester went, I'm not sure. But I'm be busily wrapping up this semester trying to keep on top of my reading, outlining, and trying to maintain sanity. I'll try to keep my emotions in check (I hate people people take out their stress on other people), but if you try to contact me and I respond slower than usual, you'll know why. And if I don't write my usual thought provoking blogs in here, you'll also know why.

So into hermit-mode I go until May 11, which shall now be known as Freedom Day. The day when I will be done with what is allegedly the hardest academic year (I'm still skeptical), and enter the promise land of summer. Even though I'll be working, hopefully I'll have more time to hang out with friends and actually enjoy the city.

Back to the books I go, but not without leaving a fabulous article that Alex sent to me: What Would Jesus Really Do? Religion and Politics, my favorite taboo subjects to read and write about.

Cous-aunt

I don't think I've ever spent a major holiday away from home, at least none of the major holiday involving large feasts and lots of family (I have a huge exteneded family). So I was really excited when my Aunt called to tell me that she and her family would be in Maryland visiting her husband's side of the family and I was welcome to Easter dinner.

So after Easter Mass, they picked me up, I had lunch with my little cousins Michelle and Robert who love sushi (how a 7 year old boy doesn't like potatoes but lives for sushi is beyond me), visited the National Cathedral, visited the cherry blossoms at the Jefferson Memorial, and headed over to Maryland for a traditional ham and roast beef Easter dinner with all the fixings. It was a wonderful dinner and I realized how much I missed quaint suburban life.

Though I got to sit at the "adult table" with wine, the best part of the day was still spending some time with my little cousins, ages 7 and 9. Being the oldest cousin on both sides of the family where most of my cousins are at least a decade younger than me has created a different dynamic than most people and their cousins. Heck, when they have pictures of all the cousins on my mom's side, they don't even include my brother and I even more because we would just throw the proportions of the picture way off. I don't have the kind of peer-relationship bond with them but I've just embraced the fact that I'm their cousin but also like their aunt. So assuming aunt duties, I made them little Easter basket/bags and told them why all the cool kids go to college.