You Don't Always Get What You Want

As an older student, people always ask me:  "Why did you decide to go to law school?" I explain how my skills and abilities match those required by lawyers; and the profession will allow me to help others and make a difference.  That response is not untrue; just incomplete. 

I started law school to regain my confidence in my own merit as an individual.

Contrary to lip service, society does not value homemakers’ contributions. We admire money and tangible accomplishments.  After leaving a successful career for the opportunity to live abroad, I focused my energy on kids, husband, and home.  Ten years later, I craved acknowledgment for my abilities, and law school satisfied that need.

Recovering my self-respect proved more problematic. Never have I worked so hard to be rejected and unsuccessful.  This painful ‘reality check’ will further my personal growth, but will my diminished confidence impair my success as a lawyer? 

Ask a Mom in Law School: The Possibility of Pregnancy

Cross-posted at (Formerly) Knocked Up (and in Law School):

A new reader asks:

I just found your blog after googling "taking the bar exam while pregnant." I'm not in law school, but I am in the dead middle of a PhD. What is your take on the possibility of being pregnant during a major exam (in my case my "orals"). Terrible idea? Disaster? Not as bad as it sounds?

Just reading these comments on your blog makes me feel better about the prospect of pregnancy - so nice to see a bunch of women thinking about families and careers happening at the same time!

Congratulations on being a PhD candidate and not a law student! You obviously make better life decisions than I do. (I'm only half-kidding.) But I certainly understand the hard work involved in pursuing advanced degrees, in both graduate school and law school. To choose to become pregnant during such a time takes a special kind of determination, a special kind of insanity, and keeping a balance between the two.

Weekly MILS Roundup (Moms in Law School)

The Moms in Law School Roundup posts on Sundays, alternating between blogs by PT-law mom and A Little Fish in Law School (a/k/a butterflyfish). This week is MILS #32, hosted by PT-law mom. It's an easy way to keep up with (and join) a virtual neighborhood of moms in law school!

Thanks to butterflyfish for the tip in the comments [on our previous article about MILS]. Happy Sunday, everybody!