On Whim

As I sat for lunch yesterday with two other new law students and our student advisor the normal questions were asked. Where did you do your undergrad? Have you been out of school long? What brings you here? The funny thing is that people think I'm joking when I give my answer to that last question. Why did I go to law school? Whim. Why did I decide on the University of Richmond? Whim. That's usually how I answer, and I guess there aren't too many people like me who could say that and be partially serious. But whim is a good term for what guides a lot of my life, not that it's random (although sometimes it is) but life for me is pretty dynamic.

Case in point, my time as an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer with the BYU Positive Behavior Support Initiative. I was working as a secretary with the PBSI when my boss asked me about my plans after I graduated. Student employees aren't allowed to stay on in the same capacity once they graduate, and for some reason they liked me there. Haha. He asked if I would consider being a VISTA volunteer and explained the basics behind the program to me, I would get a small living stipend while you volunteer and at the end of my service I could get an education reward to go towards furthering my education. I would work 30-40 hours a week, and in our office I would probably work on multiple research projects, doing all sorts of different tasks. Basically, he was asking me to make a 1 year commitment to work for very little pay and without the ability to work any other jobs. Without consulting anybody or even really thinking about it for more than five minutes, I signed up. That's all it took for me to set the course for the next year of my life - a few minutes thought. And you know what? It was a good decision. I loved my time as a VISTA, and although I probably wasn't the greatest VISTA volunteer that office has or will see, I think they enjoyed having me there.

So, how can I say that Law School was whim? I guess it's not a good idea to go about making decisions that put you into heavy debt based just on what you feel like doing - but strangely it works for me. I mean, the decision makes sense and it is a field I think I will enjoy working in, but when the decision was made I hadn't worked out the logic - I just decided. To start, I had no intention of going to law school, although that's the normal course for many philosophy majors. My friend Jimmy took me to lunch one day and we ran into one of my friends from the philosophy program, Bart. Bart was telling me that I had to go to law school, that I was being foolish with my plans to pursue a PhD in Philosophy, and that I knew that law was the right way to go. I was unconvinced, but Bart had this idea of going into practice together and so he felt like I needed to go to law school for sure. I asked, jokingly, are you going to pay for me to take the LSAT? Bart had an idea, he said that he would pay for my LSAT if I would agree to go into practice with him once we were both through the process of law school, and if I ever changed my mind about the whole thing that I would have to pay him back. Free LSAT? I signed up. I still didn't care very much and decided I would just see how well I could do on the LSAT without any preparation, with very little study a few months later I took the test and did well enough that Law School seemed more attractive. About then, after seeing the test results on a test I never had any intention of taking, I figured Law School seemed like a decent idea. Strangely enough, Bart changed his mind and decided not to go to law school - I think it's decisions like that are what made me and Bart get along so well (and I think since he changed his mind, I'm free of any and all obligations from our deal). (If you want to get an idea of the kind of guy Bart is, read his website celebritymisinformation.com)

How did I decide to go to the University of Richmond?  It just felt right, as Stephen Colbert might say, I went with my gut.  I remember the first time I got a pamphlet from them in the mail suggesting that I apply for law school there, I looked at it and I had a good feeling about the place.  While I investigated and applied to many other schools, I just had some kind of affinity for the University of Richmond.  It wasn't the highest ranked school I was accepted into, nor the school that offered me the most money - it was just the one I felt best about.  

My friend Casey asked me before I left if I had prayed about my decision.  My answer to him was "of course" but that doesn't give an accurate portrayal of my decision.  I never prayed specifically about the University of Richmond, I more prayed to know if I was going in the right direction.  Kind of "let me know if I'm screwing this up" more than questioning where the right school was.  When it comes to my education, I feel that the answer is to get as much education as possible wherever seems right, and Richmond seems right.  So far, my gut hasn't led me wrong on this adventure, and I'm going to keep on trusting it.  So how did I end up where I am?  Whim - may it take me further than I can see.