Women in the Law

I recently became a member of the "Women in the Law" club at BYU law school. As quoted from their website: "The BYU chapter of Women in the Law empowers women to succeed in their legal careers and serve in their communities and homes. WIL is a part of the J. Reuben Clark Law Society."

There was a great panel of four women who came and spoke today. It was great to see the variety in their legal work as well as their family life. I was comforted to know that thee of the four had changed jobs multiple times (so I know that whatever I choose isn't necessarily for life).

Since then, I have had the opportunities to listen to other Women in the Law speak. Each has carved out her own unique path. What I am grateful for is the camaraderie in the journey.

Per the advice of several of these women, I have begun reading the book "Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead" by Sheryl Sandberg.  So far, my favorite chapters have been "Making Your Partner a Real Partner" and "The Myth of Doing It All."

One thought that has stuck with me from all of this (a concept Sheryl Sandberg brings out in her book) is that just as men undervalue the contribution women can make in the workplace, so too do women undervalue the contribution men can make in the home. "We all need to encourage men to lean in to their families." (p.113)

Rhetorically,
Rebekah

A Laugh a Day Keeps the Troubles Away

At the first devotional of the year:

Sister Samuelson talked about the value of laughter. “The ability to not take one too seriously and use humor in times of mistakes, small and accidental incidents, and stressful situations can help alleviate embarrassment, fear and even discouragement in circumstances."

This devotional was well-timed, given the experience I had later on in the day. I was going to get a new driver's license (since my name changed and all). I figured out where to go, and drove there straight from school as to not waste time. I got there in record time. There was no wait, and I filled out my paperwork quickly. I was feeling quite cheerful for getting all this done in less than a half hour, until I noticed the following sign: "Before you come to the desk, you need: your birth certificate, old driver's license, new social security card, and two proofs of your current address." Since I didn't need to bring my birth certificate to get a social security card, I has assumed that I also didn't need to bring it to get my license. Angry at myself, (as I had thought to bring all the documents that morning but had to decided not to) I had to take an hour long detour through Provo construction to pick up something that would have taken seconds if I had been prepared.

Have you seen the movie Despicable Me 2? There's this great scene where Gru is feeling happy and he skips to work, pausing to play in street band, participate in yoga at the park, throw a wayward frisbee back to its owners, etc. 

Then he finds out some terrible news that ruins his mood and he ends up walking back with storm clouds over his head, kicking instruments from the street band aside, pushing yoga women out of his way, and throwing a wayward frisbee down the gutter drain. 

While I did not do any of those things, I did have to laugh at the similarity of my mood swing with Gru's. And then I remembered the devotional earlier that day. Even though I was annoyed, I couldn't help but see the humor of the situation. 

Everything worked out (as it usually does) and I thankfully did not have to travel across town again for another forgotten item. 

Rhetorically,

Rebekah

Getting into the Groove

Per tradition, I am doing as much as possible, which usually means that it will be almost more than I can handle. 

I decided I wanted to graduate a semester early, which means taking 16 credits (minimum) each semester and getting internship credit during the summer. I'm currently taking 7 classes this semester, including being on the International Law and Management Review (law journal).  

On top of that, I landed a fabulous job as a research assistant at the BYU Law Careers Services Office. This is a shout out for their blog, which is a great but little-known resource: http://byulawcso.blogspot.com/. They have tips for interviews, resumes, work relations, networking, etc.

I am also the president of the "Writer's League," which is a Law School Club dedicated to helping law students pursue their interest in non legal writing (fiction, non fiction, poetry, etc). I also started a blog for that: http://writing-rights.blogspot.com/. I mostly blog about visiting author events and other writing workshops provided locally. I had no idea that Utah Valley offered so much!

Finally, I also signed on to be a Kaplan Bar Review representative. For those of you who don't know, the Bar is a huge test you have to take to become a lawyer. It covers many different topics, and a basic law review course will take 6 weeks to 2 months to complete, and guarantees you passing if you follow the study program. I chose Kaplan because it has a flexible and individualized program.

The ultimate goal is to graduate December 2014 and take the Bar in February 2015. Until then, this is my busy life!

Rhetorically,
Rebekah