Okay, so, like, it’s been a while, lol. I sort of abandoned this website and blog once I got super into journaling, but now I have other priorities and, quite frankly, I wanted to come back to the indie web.
I guess we’ll start with the most exciting news: I decided I wanted to go back to school. My goal is to be a paralegal. The reason for the change is for two big reasons: One, I got into this TTRPG Podcast called Just Roll With It. They have a Call of Chutuhlu campaign called Blood In The Bayou, and one of the characters, Rolan Deep, is a lawyer. I got, like, super into the podcast and characters because it just scratched an itch in my brain. I even started writing fan fiction again after twelve years!
Because of my interest in writing fan fiction, I decided I wanted to research traffic law in Chicago from the 1980s. That, coupled with me attending a court proceeding for my friend who was going through a divorce, got me interested in the legal process as well as the study of law itself. I learned that law itself is fluid, it’s expansive, it’s never ending. There is an endless supply of things to learn, and you could spend a lifetime learning all about it and still not scratch the surface. Not to mention, learning about these things that affect you every day makes you stay informed of politics, which is something I’m passionate about, as my identity is political and likely always will be.
The second reason for the change is that I have nothing going for me except the job I’m at right now, which is no longer satisfying to me. I haven’t used my Bachelors of Fine Arts since getting it nearly five years ago. It has not gotten me a job, and I currently do not work in the field of art. I could absolutely try to get promoted at my current job, but I’ve been in fast food for the entirety of my working career. I’m tired of it. I do not like the company I worked for, and I cannot see a future for me there. I’m still passionate about coffee, but not enough for me to really want to pursue the field.
I originally did not want to go back to school. However, it wasn’t until I got into law that I really yearned for something different. Here I am, stuck in a job I don’t want, and have been for over four years. Unless I drastically changed something about my situation, I was going to be miserable forever. I longed to do something more than this, I know I’m destined for something greater than this. I want to have a fulfilling career where I help people. I cannot have that at my current place of employment.
So, for the first time in a long time, I’m looking forward to the future. I’m currently independently studying law. I’ve already gone over the Constitution and the Amendments, and I’m now making my way through Law 101: Everything You Need to Know About American Law by Jay M. Feinman. I’m reading the sixth edition specifically, and I’m having a really good time with it. It goes over just the surface of different fields of law as well as the litigation process. It’s endlessly fascinating to me. My goal is to finish it before the end of the year.
My plan is to go back to school to get my paralegal certificate in the fall. Fifteen credit hours one semester, and another fifteen in the next will be all I need to meet the graduation requirements. Since I already have a Bachelors, I won’t have to get another degree, which was great news to me. I’ve already decided to go more into debt, so at least it won’t be a lot of it, all things considered. The program I plan on completing is ABA certified, which will give me more street cred if you will when I go looking for a job post-graduation. I’m so excited to go back to school again, and I’m so excited to learn more and more when I finally become a law professional.
I’m not yet bound by the American Bar Association’s Code of Professional Conduct since I’m not even a student yet, so I’ll be as candid as possible. I fear that a lot of people will make assumptions about me and my politics simply because I’m interested in becoming a law professional. To some extent, I do need to respect the judicial process. It’ll be unethical of me to assume guilt of clients that my lawyer will take on before a case has been decided (I don’t particularly want to get into criminal law, however). I will need to be at peace knowing I will have to maintain relationships with judges and other government officials, possibly including police officers.
There’s a part of me that feels as though I am going against my own morals because I will have to cooperate with the government. However, I don’t think just because I’m in law doesn’t mean I have to agree with the government at all. Quite the contrary, my job will be to be part of a team that challenges it. But there is a certain respect I need to have for it, and that somewhat bothers me.
However, the fact that I will be helping people directly in a way that will change their life is enough to outweigh that con to me. At the end of the day, I want to be able to help people. I will be working in a position that helps a lawyer represent their client, and I will be the backbone of the law firm. I will be critical in a way that will fulfill me while actively involved in a subject I am deeply passionate about.
My ultimate goal is to be in art law. I want to help my boss represent artists to the best degree I can. Though I’ve read that art law specifically is so niche that it’ll be hard to actually break into right away. Because of that, I’ll be satisfied with tort law (tort law being lawsuits, mainly, pertaining to things that have already happened in the past). I would also be interested in helping LGBTQ+ clients who have been wrongfully discriminated against. I could really help a group of people I’m a part of, and that’s what keeps me going. That’s what I mean by directly helping people.
There’s so much more I could say, but I don’t want this blog to take up too much space. I may just write another blog article about interesting things I’ve learned in law. I also have a Tumblr account dedicated to law things as well. If you’re “mutuals” with me here, then email me at joesworld5000@gmail.com if you’d be interested in following my more short form informal blog just for law. Otherwise just be on the look out for my next blog post here :)
Oh, also Merry Christmas if you celebrate! I’m Christian now by the way, but I have no plans for today or Christmas to spend with family and friends for varying reasons. I’ll be celebrating by myself, and I’ve come to peace with that. If you celebrate on your own too, or you’ll just be alone for the holidays, then I feel for you. Make yourself a nice cup of hot chocolate for me, mmkay?