talked to a friend last week through text message. i havent seen him for more than 10 years and we just communicated by text because i greeted him on his birthday. if i remember correctly, our last communication was back in 2009 when he was showing some interest in the studio apartment i was about to vacate. wait...our last communication was May of last year. he saw a copy of the Candidates Profiles which i made as part of my job for an NGO and he texted me about it.
anyway, he appeared surprised to know that im now a lawyer. after seeing his reply, i realized i would be surprised too. becoming a lawyer was never my childhood dream. when i was just five years old, what i wanted to be was to become a scientist (i wanted to work in a laboratory, do some experiments and scientific research). science has always been my favorite subject. until high school, i wanted to become a scientist until one of my science teachers said that there's no future for Filipino scientists working in the Philippines. our country doesnt provide much support for our scientists. so when i was reluctantly choosing a course to take in college (i didnt want to go to college after being discouraged to become a scientist and after being heavily influenced by philosophy. i perceived it as an unnecessary form of educational attainment which merely prolongs my imprisonment in a social system that is imperfect and flawed. all i want was a simple life with a simple job with as little interaction with the systematizing effect of the order of things), i just chose the ones with the least math subjects. political science and philosophy (but i chose architecture in one of the universities because it was their field of expertise). so i eventually became a political science major and earned a degree in political science. in a way, i could still be a scientist. a political scientist. but for some reason, when i was in my junior year in college, i decided to study law. why? because i think it would be interesting. i find the field of law interesting to study. thats why i really referred to it as "further studies". at that time, i was a nowhere man with nowhere plans and taking up law would seem to give me some kind of direction. or a not so boring path to take. i really thought of it as a study of law (i never watched ally mcbeal or any other laywer related tv series before (and until now) so television, and film, has nothing to do with my decision to take up law).
i also had no idea how lawyers become rich in their profession. i grew up being told that lawyering was hard work and they get paid in kind, not money. that was my impression (thats why i was puzzled when people make comments about how profitable it was to be a lawyer). my relatives, who were lawyers, were paid in the form of poultry, bread, seafood, etc. simple stuff. they never told me the "good" side of lawyering or that lawyers have really "nice" salaries. i was just told how noble the profession was, that its some form of public service without asking anything in return, etc. i was also really clueless about law firms. so when i decided to take up law, it was really to study further an academic field i find interesting.
i didnt take my law school studies seriously during the first few years. it was only when i was in third year did i start to take it seriously. i thought, "crap, it seems i might be able to finish law school. this shit is getting real". so i took it seriously, studied well, and started making plans. i mean, ive gone far enough to the point that i must have plans. having no plans with such a profession would be a lot of waste of a lot of things. lawyering is really serious stuff. its a privilege to practice law. now that its starting to sink in what ive gotten myself into, i must make sure i dont do anymore idiotic things ive done in the past (and i think ive repeatedly stated that ive done a lot of really idiotic things that are just so seriously stupid that it haunts me). the time and effort that would be lost...its just...things are really starting to become a big deal. this is why i would be surprised to know that im a lawyer. its not really my thing but the fact that i got this far, i cant simply brush it aside as nothing. lawyering is truly an interesting profession but its really for my intellectual stimulation and not for my laid back and somewhat lazy personality.
reminds me of shikamaru nara who just wants a simple life but cant have it simply because it would be a waste of potential.
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