When I was eight years old my brother and I were in our shared bathroom getting ready for bed. We were discussing what we would do when we were "grown up," and I declared that I wanted to be an astronaut. My brother looked at me and told me that "girls cannot be astronauts." Upset and confused I immediately went to tattle tell on my older brother. My mom then sat both of us down and told us that we could do anything in this world that made us happy and that nothing could stop us. As an eight year old little girl, this satisfied the worries that my brother had implanted in my mind.

As a woman, the most important expectations to fill are my own. I vow to never compare myself to a man and to never make him my standard.

As a child my parents always told me there was nothing I could not do. They also told me to never let anyone say or convince me I could not do something. More importantly, I was taught to always look for a challenge and never take the easy way out. Being a woman has become synonymous with challenge. As a woman entering the legal profession I am a reflection of our entire race, as each woman is. With every success and failure of mine, it speaks to the abilities of women. Having completed my first year of law school and participated in the race for employment, I can now say that being a woman plays a huge role in what kinds of jobs we get and how we are treated. I have not been treated negatively because I am a woman but I have been underestimated.

Each of us brings to our job, whatever it is, our lifetime of experience and our values.

Sandra Day O'Connor

If we are to achieve a richer culture--one rich in contrasting values--we must recognize the whole gamut of human potentialities, and so weave a less arbitrary social fabric, one in which each diverse human gift will find a fitting place.

Margaret Mead

Last month I completed my first year of law school at the University of Arizona, where 50% + of the student body is female and all of our deans are women. I am currently interning at Consumers Union, where the 90% of the office is female. Just today I attended the annual luncheon of Equal Rights Advocates, where 850 supporters celebrated the 35th anniversary of Title IX. Today is a great time to be a woman entering the legal profession: the way has been paved by amazing women leaders (heroines abound!), and there is still much work to do.

I am lucky.