My best friend, hereafter to be referred to as C, because "my best friend" takes a lot of effort to type eighty times and can get wordy, was in town this weekend and I spent much of the past few days driving her around to see her various family members. Every July 4th (or thereabouts), her dad's side of the family gets together for a golf tournament/potluck/barbeque/sing-along/game night. The golf portion of the family tradition was called off this year due to no one wanting to be outside in 105° heat, but the rest of the family reunion was still very much on.
C's family is sort of my adopted family, and so I know the cast of characters pretty well. Still, they're not my family, so we don't talk regularly and I haven't seen some of them since last year's gathering. I haven't seen any of them since sending in my seat deposit and officially deciding that I'm Going To Law School Dammit. Reactions this weekend alternated between amusing me, inspiring me, and filling me with confidence. Some of the highlights are below the cut.
C's Grandfather: "So what are you gonna do when you finish this law school program?"
Me: "Like, what kind of law do I want to do?"
Him: "No, I mean what do you do when you finish law school?"
Me: "Be a lawyer?"
Him: "OH! Hunh."
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One of C's aunts is a private civil defense attorney. We talked briefly about what kind of law I think I want to do and I admitted that I know enough to know that I don't know for sure yet (see my previous post on the subject). She smiled, nodded, and said, "Sweetie, all I knew after three years was that I wanted to do litigation. You know more about what you want to do now than I did when I passed the bar. You're doing just fine." We then had a long conversation about her daily routine at work, what she likes about litigation, and, um, knitting.
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A year ago, I talked at length with another of C's aunts about my desire to go to law school and my worries about the economy. On finding out that I'm taking the plunge, she pulled me into a hug and whispered, "I was hoping you'd say that." She had to leave the Big Family Event we were at to let her dog out, and when she came back, she came bearing congratulatory gifts.
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One of C's uncles, an uncle I've never been hugely fond of, was ranting about how much he hates lawyers and how they complicate his job by pouring over every word in company documents. After he finished ranting, he took a sip of beer, looked at me, and asked why I was moving. When I told him it was to go to law school, he spent the next ten minutes falling all over himself apologizing for badmouthing lawyers.
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C is a playwright and the general consensus among C's aunts and uncles is that I should go into entertainment law or soft-IP so that I can be C's lawyer.
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