Back to School

My last day at my law firm was my first day at school. This was the day after Labor Day in 2004 (7 months ago). My school is ridiculously convenient for me (for the most part). The main campus is about a 10-minute drive away. I almost ended up at a different school that would not have been too convenient, but luckily I had a few strings pulled for me. Many years ago, when I was applying for college, I purposefully went out of my way to make sure that I got into school with “no strings.” I wanted to get in based on my own merit. I probably would have ended up at a better school had I used some things to my advantage (alumni, a childhood illness that made me “more diverse”), but I didn’t. I am not so stupid anymore. So I allowed strings to be pulled. And it made my life much easier!

See, as I mentioned before, I sort of made this career-change decision rather quickly. I was set to go to a school that would have had me traveling all over the area to go to classes until one of the partners I worked for at the law firm stepped in. She suggested my current school, and mentioned its convenience. So I called the school and talked to the guy in charge of admissions. He told me classes had started that week, and I would have to wait for next semester. I was in no mood to wait (I couldn’t stay at my job any longer or I feared a mental breakdown), so I decided I would have to go to the other school. I told the law partner this, and she said she could help. Turns out her husband is the chair of one of the departments over at the university. He talked to the dean of the school of education, and I was in! Yeah! I had only missed a week of class, so I wasn’t even that far behind! Time to begin my new life.