Overcoming a childhood obstacle; legal assist ; senator’s office staff worker
“you can’t judge a book by its cover.” As a child, this was one cliché to which I was particularly devoted. In addition to the customary difficulties of
Adjusting to adolescence and a new school environment, I entered middle school with an unusual liability: I suffered from facial tics, the most persistent of which was frequent, involuntary eye twitch. Only a few weeks into the seventh grade, I acquired the nickname “Blinky” and, at an age when insecurities already run rampant, my identity was permanently defined by the feature which I hated most in myself. Even back then I realized that the teasing was always affectionate, and I made friends quickly; nevertheless, I spent years with a nagging feeling that I was somehow aberrant. Gradually, however, my tics diminished in both frequency and intensity, and by the time I entered college they had largely disappeared.
I wanted to discuss this condition because I believe that , as an ever-present factor during many of these formative years, the experience played a major role in shaping the adult I have become. Although ten years ago I would never have foreseen that my tics could be a powerful vehicle for personal growth, I believe that the experience has helped me to develop a heightened sensitivity for those who have struggled to fit in socially. It was this factor, for example, which led me to become a Resident Assistant as an undergraduate at Stanford for two years, and which has prompted my involvement with various community service projects, giving me the opportunity to interact with troubled and disadvantaged youth.
Most importantly, as a person who often felt different while growing up-and who desperately wanted the other kids to judge the content of the book, rather than the quality of the cover-I have always made an effort in both my personal and in my professional life to scratch well beneath the surface, to determine whether the substance actually matches the form. My decision to attend law school also reflects this tendency. Although I have long had an interest in the law as an academic discipline, my work experience since graduating has given me the opportunity to confirm that my academic interests would extend to the real-world application of legal principles. To this end, I purposefully chose jobs that provided two very distinct perspectives on the practice of law: as a legal assistant, I became acquired with both the advantages and disadvantages of private practice, while my current position in Senator X’s office has offered a glimpse of how the law may be used constructively in the public sector. Although my own long-term goals are geared more towards the latter, both positions have equally impressed upon me the unique potential which exists in the law to make a direct, positive impact on people’s lives.
Working for the law firm, I was initially turned off by the formal language which permeated all writing and discourse( “Aforementioned legalese had heretofore proven incomprehensible”). As one not familiar with the jargon, I found the law to be pretentious and distant. Gradually, however, I began to sort out the shades of difference between a “motion in limine” and a “56(f) motion,” and I came to understand the law as a vast set of rules which could, with intelligence and creativity, genuinely be used on behalf of values such as fairness and justice. In addition to my primary assignment on an antitrust case, some exposure to pro bono work further convinced me that the law has a very important role to play in our society.
Similarly, my first impressions of Capitol Hill were not altogether favorable. Not only did I struggle to negotiate my way through the labyrinth of underground turnnels in order to find the cafeteria, but I was again forced to adapt to a specialized language, this time the unique lexicon of lobbyists and congressional staffers. As with my experience at the law firm, though, I soon realized the practical application of the laws which are written here in Congress. Unlike most of the general public, who see only the final version of a bill, being part of the legislative process has forced me to examine all sides of any given issue. Although politics can make this process agonizingly slow and inefficient, my work here has given me greater appreciation for the way that laws affect our constituents back home.
Given my own particular skills and abilities, I am now convinced that the law presents the single greatest chance for me to make a difference, both in the lives of individuals and in terms of influencing the broader fabric of society. I am confident that my insistence on looking beyond those first impressions has provided me with an exciting opportunity, just as I would like to think that those seventh graders who eventually managed to look beyond an awkward physical trait also discovered something worthwhile.
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24.04.10 14:33
