The Purple Jar

I’m right smack in the middle of my last finals week in law school..I know i shouldn’t be online and "wasting" precious time but something about today made me feel so sad…

I went to UP this afternoon to submit my take home exam for gender–and I don’t know, maybe it was the afternoon light or the quietness, with only the clunk of my wooden wedges  echoing in the halls–something about today finally drove home the fact that I will be leaving Malcolm Hall very soon.

And to think that on my very first registration day as a law freshman, I was having serious doubts whether going to UP was the better choice than going to Ateneo instead.  I was right there in the line but a part of me was already thinking if it wasn’t too late to go enroll in Rockwell. I had apprehensions about fitting in, the whole stereotype about UP…

..But wow, talk about crossroads.  And God, how thankful i am that I chose this road over any other. I got the opportunity to study in the best law school in the country (no joke.Iba talaga.)

I never felt the weight of four years in law school. I know this is hindsight bias because several of my friends would swear that I have proclaimed too many times "Bakit nga ulit tayo nag law?!", with highlighter in hand and SCRA photocopies stacked menacingly high in front of me. 

But what I meant about not feeling the weight of four years is that my God, how it does pass by so fast.  when i was a freshman or a sophomore, young lawyer friends would tell me to enjoy law school and I was like, are you kidding?! As if disbelieving that "enjoy" and "law" could actually be used in the same sentence.  But yes, it is possible. And more than that, enjoying law and enjoying the study of law should be the goal.  And one of the greatest things i learned from the four years of being a law student is, oddly enough, that there’s a bigger life and a bigger world to be lived outside law.

…That being in law school does mean that yes, your life is somewhat put on hold but doesn’t mean that it should be the convenient excuse to not see old friends and to not go out and have fun and enjoy being with other non-legal company.  That being stressed is not an excuse to not look fabulous. That after four years, I will never remember the time i spent holed up in my room, studying this case or that commentary but what  will stay with me are the times with friends, with blockmates, with  sisters.  I did my best to learn and absorb the great legal principles and the skills to hopefully become a good lawyer and I think I’m being pretty objective when I say that I did a good job on that aspect.  I was a good law student. But I think I became a better person because I know that what mattered more to me were the stuff that will not show up on my transcript.

My God, four years of my life.  I found real friends. I came into my own looks, my own style, my own way of doing things. I became a part of my sorority, found myself embraced by my sisters and entrusted to be at its helm, and found a passion for a cause bigger than myself, where I am with women who are my sisters for life.  I entered law school with a long-term relationship, then i found the courage to find myself, went through a meaningful break-up, went out on memorable dates and finally found someone who has made me really happy, just the right person at the right time.  Four years of the most growth in my life. So far. 

There were storms. There were good days and bad days and so-so days.  But at the end of the day, I’m here and I’m glowing because once again, life has proven to me that there are no right or wrong choices.  But there can be better choices and I chose to make the most out of the path that I chose.

To all of you who have been with me in this path, you know who you are.For the times you held my hand, been the shoulder to cry on, the listening ear, the reliable reply to my text rants, the beer drinking companion–Thank You.  I will surely miss all those countless times of  togetherness–to be reminisced and  evolved into another form in our future lives, but never again to be completely duplicated.  Once we leave Malcolm Hall, that place will never be the same again.  And each time I go back there, I will think of you and our times together and the me that was there, enjoying every damn minute of it, with you.

But hey, this chapter of my life is closing. But more chapters are still spread out before me, with more chapters to make and to live. 

The rest is still unwritten.

This entry was posted on Monday, April 9th, 2007 at 11:25 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.