Burning the Midnight Oil
By Brenda L. George • December 16, 2017 •Writers in Residence, Law School, Other Law School Issues, Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life, Other Issues
I stayed up until midnight writing a paper. As I was writing, I was intermittently caring for my two week old son and my two and a half year old son. My oldest had a hard time getting to sleep tonight (of course!) and we were in and out of his room until 10 p.m. My youngest was sleeping - the newborn life! Every time I looked over at him sleeping I thought about the classic advice you get when you have a baby: "sleep when the baby sleeps." Yeah, I would have loved to do that instead...but law school…
Finals with a Newborn
By Brenda L. George • December 14, 2017 •Writers in Residence, Law School, Other Law School Issues, Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life
I took a final exam on Tuesday - the only regularly scheduled exam I was able to make. My baby was just 11 days old. This was honestly the hardest exam I have ever had to take (and not in terms of content). Usually when I take an exam, the time flies by, but this time it was the longest three hours of my life. Not only was I away from my baby for the longest amount of time since his birth, but I also was fighting sleep (in a freezing cold room!). I'm going to be honest, my desire to…
Postponing Finals
By Brenda L. George • December 09, 2017 •Writers in Residence, Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life
I had two finals this week, but i didn't go to them. Instead, I spent the week at home with my family, freshly a family of four. Our son, Landon Lee George arrived on December 1, 2017 at 11:20 p.m., the Friday before finals, and the last day of classes. I had a final scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday this week. I still have a final scheduled for Tuesday next week, and a paper due Friday. I hope to make it to the final and turn in my paper, but we'll see how things go. My son will be two weeks old…
I am still like you, just a little different
By Brenda L. George • November 07, 2017 •Writers in Residence, Law School, Choosing a Career and Landing a Job, Curriculum and Classroom Dynamics, Other Law School Issues, Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life
There are times in every person's life that can leave them feeling so different than everyone around them that they don't quite fit in. This is perhaps the one thing that we all have in common - we have all experienced this isolation on some level. Law school has left me feeling that on numerous occasions, but most certainly during my 4L year and second pregnancy. I have been thinking a lot lately about how law school can make you feel isolated from your pre-law school circle of friends, and your family. And, unique to my own situation, pregnancy can…
Bar Prep with a Family
By Brenda L. George • October 10, 2017 •Writers in Residence, Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life, Other Issues
Studying with a toddler has been a bit of a challenge. Most people have the opportunity to do homework in the early evenings or on weekends. In fact, I even had that opportunity during my first year, while pregnant. But now, early evenings at our house are dedicated to dinner with the family, bath time, bedtime routine, and extra snuggles. Weekends are usually out as well because it is the only time we have to spend together as a family. That leaves late evenings to do homework. My son usually goes to sleep around 8pm these days. Usually. As he…
The Fear of the Unknown
By Brenda L. George • September 05, 2017 •Writers in Residence, Careers, Other Career Issues, Law School, Choosing a Career and Landing a Job, Other Law School Issues, Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life, •Other Issues
I started taking my son to an early learning center when he was three months old so that I continue going to law school. He has attended that same school since and is now two and a half. That first day was rough. So rough, that I made my husband drop him off and I still cried. I will never forget it. But the tears were short lived because I knew it was the right thing to do. I knew that I was doing something that would benefit my family in the long run. I also knew that I was…
The Truth About Pregnancy
By Brenda L. George • August 17, 2017 •Writers in Residence, Careers, Other Career Issues, Law School, Pre-Law, Other Law School Issues, Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life, •Other Issues
This post is really late. Almost two weeks late. That is mostly because the topic I chose to write about is a tough one. Admittedly, I was on vacation as well, but I think that is why I was so reluctant to simply sit down and crank out a blog post. In fact, I may have had too much time to sit and reflect on what I am about to write below. As I sit down to write this, it is 5:00 a.m. and it took a bout of pregnancy induced insomnia (I woke up at 2:00 a.m., tripped over…
Washington State Family-Leave
By Brenda L. George • July 07, 2017 •Ms. JD, Writers in Residence, Careers, Firms and the Private Sector, Other Career Issues, Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life, Sexism, Sexual Harassment, and Other Forms of Discrimination, •Women and Law in the Media
The Seattle Times recently reported on a "revolutionary" law, one-decade in the making. Washington State is joining California, New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Washington D.C. in mandating employers pay workers' salaries while they take time off for the birth of a child. The Washington State law allows 12 weeks of leave at 90% of income (higher than any other state mandating the pay). This law, which has technically been on the books since 2007, is funded by weekly paycheck contributions from the employee and the employer and will take effect in 2020. I'm sure you can imagine how…
Round 2 - Navigating Law School with Baby #2 on the Way
By Brenda L. George • June 06, 2017 •Writers in Residence, Law School, Other Law School Issues, Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life
My husband and I just announced that our second baby boy is due in a December of 2017. What better way to immerse myself in the topic of this blog, right?! I'm kidding, obviously, but it will be beneficial because I will be blogging through December about the topic of being a parent in law school. First things first, we planned this, just as we planned our first (although our first was planned to arrive during summer break, which is significantly longer than winter break). So, what does December look like for a law student? Seattle University School of Law…