Hello Blog-world! I’m (obviously) new to this, so this first post (along with probably the next few) are bound to be just wonderful.
TOPIC(S)
As with most blogs when they are just starting out (I’m assuming), I don’t really know where I’m going with this. I intend on it being about the trials and tribulations of a recently graduated lawyer from a tier 4 law school studying for the bar exam and attempting to get a job, then at some point how the new job is, and eventually having children while still trying to juggle the career.
However, I will warn you now, I am VERY opinionated (as any good lawyer is, I suppose) and therefore, some of the posts will be off-“topic” (like the fact that the Pope tweeted today from his iPad.. wow). My husband and I also love to go hiking, so it will partially be about our adventures (I’ve already got one story to share). And some will be about the difficulties of moving to a new state, 13 hours away from any family or friends with no jobs, just an optimistic dream. Pretty much, it’s going to be pretty random, but I’ll try to stick with lawyerly themes, as I’m sure other people such as myself are having troubles finding jobs in this terrible job market. Especially those of us who didn’t graduate from Harvard or Yale with a 3.8.
INTRODUCTION
My husband and I taking a goofy picture using some props from the photo booth we had at our wedding.
I guess I’ll also start this blog out by introducing myself (warning: this is pretty dry as are most life stories):
I’m 25 and (as noted) just graduated from Texas Southern University’s Thurgood Marshall School of Law in May. Let me start at the beginning though. I was born in Houston, TX, moved to Valencia, CA when I was 1, when I was 5, we moved to Brenham, TX (home of Blue Bell ice cream 🙂 ). When I was 12, just before starting 7th grade, literally, days before, we moved to Trophy Club, TX (bonus points if you know where that is before reading the next sentence). Trophy Club is a tiny town north of Fort Worth that is pretty much just a large neighborhood that was built around two golf courses designed by Byron Nelson. Graduated high school in 2004, went to Texas A&M University (Fightin’ Texas Aggie Class of 2008, WHOOP!) and graduated in December 2007 (Yes, I graduated in 3.5 years instead of the more common 5 and yes I’m still class of ’08). In April 2008 I started dating my now husband. In August 2008 I started law school in Oklahoma City at Oklahoma City University School of Law, 6 hours away from Houston where my (now) husband lived. After my first year, I transferred to Texas Southern University’s Thurgood Marshall School of Law. I’m sure my beef with the school will come up in a later post. Anywho, nothing too exciting happened until August of 2010 when I got engaged and started planning our April 23, 2011 wedding. Yes, I got married at the end of my 3L year and went on my honeymoon the dead week before finals. Now, back to where I started, I graduated in May and 4 days after graduation, we packed up our apartment and headed north to Colorado.
This pretty much explains why we moved to Colorado... absolutely STUNNING scenery!
Why Colorado you may ask? (See picture) Because my husband came home about a year and a half ago and said “Hey, want to move to Colorado after you graduate?” I’d be needing a new job anyway and with no kids, no house and a job he could afford to leave, I said sure. And here we are. Thirteen hours away from our closest family (my parents in Trophy Club; 17 hours away from his parents in Conroe, TX) attempting to make it. A couple weeks after we moved here, my husband found a job with a company he used to work for years ago so he was able to jump right back in, which was great.
And here I am. Studying for the bar exam and sending out resume galore. So far I’ve only had an interview with one firm. I got a second interview that I felt like I rocked and yet, they went with someone else. Pretty much crushed my confidence. My husband was optimistic, telling me you always have to go through a few interviews before you get a job. My dad was also supportive, saying that maybe this was a blessing because it wasn’t in the exact area of the law I wanted to go in to. What area of the law is that you might ask?
LEGAL ME
Tax.
Yep, tax law is my passion. Don’t ask why because I couldn’t even begin to explain it. I took the “Basic Federal Income Tax” course Fall 2010 with a good friend because I was sure the class would be hell and yet, I loved it, it came easy to me and I ended up with an A, a mentor, and the next semester, a 20 page paper on the basics of international taxation in relation to U.S. outbound transactions (aka citizens of the U.S. making income somewhere else and how that income is taxed by the U.S./foreign countries). Yeah, see why I can’t explain it? Sounds about as fun as watching paint dry/grass grow/getting a root canal, etc. Conveniently, the University of Denver has a taxation LLM program (LLM is a graduate law degree) which I could start in September. That’s looking like my #1 option right now due to the lack of job prospects.
That’s all for now.
theblondelawyer 