home           about           blog           archives           domain           exits           ask
 

Little girl, you're in the middle of the ride

September 5, 2014    |    0 COMMENT(S)

I don't want to jinx anything, but lately I've been feeling really good about this semester.

Not that I'm not feeling stressed, sleep-deprived, or exhausted, though — NO. Our schedule and line-up of professors qualify this sem as probably the heaviest and most difficult yet.

But so far, I'm actually liking my subjects. And so far, I see myself genuinely enjoying them. I know, I know, am I not two years late into this? If it hasn't been so obvious yet, it's a vicious cycle of love and hate for me and law school. I was stuck in the "What am I doing here?" rut for quite a while, and it did cost me a lot in the emotional and physical department. For someone who wanted to be a lawyer for most of her life, I found it rather perplexing that I felt so bogged down by it. But, right now, I'm welcoming the change. I'm embracing the fact that for the first time in a long time, I'm enjoying the learning process again — something I terribly missed, and definitely needed.

It helps, of course, that I am surrounded by people I love. If there's anything that has remained constant in this circus that is law school, it's them.


EXHIBIT A: The Parents

"If we spin this umbrella quick enough, magiging white!"
My father, everyone.

Clingy (surprise) date with Mommy.


It's funny that even though I'm away from home for a great fraction of the year, I still feel super close to my parents. We have our own thread on Facebook, we have three-way telebabad calls, and we share links and random jokes through e-mail. We are so clingy! That's the natural result of being an only child — your default best friends are your parents. But I am not complaining. At all. I've always considered myself lucky for truly having them as my anchors, in every sense of the word. I guess it really takes reaching a certain age for you to appreciate your friendship with your parents. While I won't deny that we still have petty fights every now and then ("But I like my things messy, I find order in my chaos!!"), I'd like to believe we've also gone past the I'm-a-rebel-and-I-don't-care-what-you-say! / I'm-the-parent-here-and-I-know-better phase. (Not that we've ever gone through a dramatic stage like that; last I checked, no tattoos and weird body piercings on me. Haha.) I appreciate our relationship more now because I understand that life would have taken a different turn had they not been there for me. My life literally reached a crossroads (twice), and had it not been for them, I would have walked the easy (but not so valiant) road. But I didn't, and they held my hand along the way. And when I think about how happy I am now, I cannot begin to even thank them enough for what they did, for always being encouraging and supportive of me, for guiding me to where I should be.

Also: I'm so incredibly grateful, now more than ever, that my papa is an engineer who works in the power sector and my mom is an accountant who works in trade and industry. My subjects this semester involve a lot of knowledge on energy, public utilities, taxation, and government contracts and agreements — concepts they know so, SO well as a result of their jobs. It's so awesome that I can call up my dad and ask about a particular case, and he can tell me the entire factual history in a heartbeat. Or that I can ask my mom about something tax-related, and the next thing I know, she's coming over to bring me a set of tax books. :))

Coolest parents ever. #favoritedaughteraward


EXHIBIT B: Law School Friends

Season 3 na tayo, guys!


My law school barkada has evolved so much over the years, but something that stayed the same was that things always feel like a sitcom :)) Nice and Gab will have a little spat about something, Mico will say something funny to lighten the mood, we all tease Gab about it, the couple makes up, Gab will say something about Clarisse being her least favorite friend — it all ends well. Always. :))

We're probably the embodiment of a "hangout" sitcom. We don't really do a lot of things, other than talk and talk, and just talk some more. We crack jokes in between. We eat a lot. We make fun of each other (usually Gab, haha!) Isn't that how a typical Friends episode usually works?

And it never feels rehashed or formulaic. It's just natural, us hanging out, being our usual selves, finding something funny in the mundane. It may be boring to some, but for a place as exhausting as law school, it is such a relief to find a group of people you are perfectly okay doing nothing with. I'm serious. Finding friends as sabaw as you is probably the holy grail of relationships in law school. Everyone's all sabaw, but you've all got to find those who share the same wavelength!

A lot of things have changed since first year, but the dynamic's still the same. We had breakfast for dinner the other night, and we got to reminiscing about breakfasts we used to share back in 2012. We no longer have sleepover study sessions at Mico's now, and we've all found better footing in terms of our study habits (thank you, #STAYSTRONG digest group!) but some things never changed. And I'm glad. It's nice to have nights like this to affirm the friendship.


EXHIBIT C: This Dude Who Has A Crush On Me


And then, there's this boy, who no longer needs any explanation! Wala na nga ata ako dapat sabihin, he's been taking over my blog lately! So yun na, here's a picture of us, we had lunch last week at Teriyaki Boy, that's it.

Loljk, of coooourse I can't leave him out! Allow me to indulge, law school and his work's been transforming this relationship into a quasi-long distance one! :))

Let me just put this out there: the most underrated standard of care? The diligence of a good boyfriend of a law student. I should write a provision on that! :)) I cannot imagine anyone who is more patient and understanding than a person willing to put up with the crazy body clock, endless rants and sudden anxiety attacks of a student of the law! It's funny because when I think about it, I don't think I can date a law student. (In law school, that's called "preferring a non-showbiz boyfriend." Haha! Nasa labas ng industriya!) What a nightmare — puro reklamo about recits and tambak na readings! No other kwento aside from legal doctrines! 

So, props to this guy, really, for sticking around! :))

Someone asked me to describe our relationship in my Ask box, and my answer was: we are such a love team. That is, we love each other and we work as a team :)) HOW BADUY! But it's true: we've always told each other that no matter what happens, we'll be on the same side. And what a world of difference that makes. He understands how much time I have to devote for school; I understand his stress and exhaustion about work. He encourages me; I motivate him. We always just push ourselves to do our best, one day at a time. It makes long weeks easier when you know everyday you have someone to look forward to, someone who's working his ass off the same as you, someone who's just as excited to share things with you. Teamwork talaga, not just for the relationship, but on each other's endeavors. 

I say, #KathNiel you're going down. Kathryn, leave this game to big sister. I'm sorry, but believing in magic? Nailed it. And hello, I'm dating the engineer. That's always better than dating the gangster.


*


Alright, I'm feeling better now. (Woke up feeling a little terrible thanks to hormones.) 

Back to Tax, then! Huzzah! 




________________________________________________________________