I am sitting down here, in front of my laptop, trying to concentrate on my dissertation whilst listening to Train’s album I’ve recently discovered (thanks to @emmersimms)
It is the weekend before Christmas, and just over a week before the end of this year. My mind keeps wandering. I’ve got to admit that this time of the year always makes me kind of nostalgic, whether I am home or not, whether with family or alone.
Thinking back over the year in review, my ups and downs, my achievements and failures, the things I’ve learnt, the people I’ve met… Thinking about the year ahead, my resolutions, the challenges yet to face, the things I am yet to unravel. I sometimes get scared just by the thought of the somewhat unknown future ahead.
One minute you have it all in your hands, everything that you have ever dreamt of at this stage of your life. You can’t help but think about how lucky you’ve been, and how life sometimes turns out not as we’ve planned it but better. The next minute you realise that it is all transient, that things come and go, that people come and leave and that you are and have to be in a constant strive to achieve your next goal, to meet someone new to learn from, about life, about yourself.
The year 2012 has been one of the greatest in my life to date. It has changed me utterly, my views about life, about people, about things I want to achieve and things I could happily let go of. IT all started round about mid-2011 if I have to be exact when I was offered a contract with one of the leading law firms in the South for a 1-year placement. A firm that a lot of my fellow course-mates would die for (not literally of course). That was the first time in my life when I had the guts to take a detour from my planned ‘course of life’. I had that amazing opportunity and I grabbed it. I have no regrets whatsoever. To the contrary, I still wake up every day and think about how lucky I am to have been able to meet all these amazing people. It has been life-changing.
And while I don’t want to bore you with my mootings about life too much, this is just a small piece of advice to all of you law students out there. Seize every small or big opportunity to be exposed to the law whilst en route to that Pupilage or Training contract. Sometimes, we all tend to get a little too carried away trying to achieve that BIG goal we’ve got ourselves into Law School for, that we sometimes miss them little detours round the corner. And in this line of thoughts, using your peripheral vision sometimes helps. :-)
So what is it that was so awesome about my year you’re asking yourselves? Or did you close the page already?
Well, to tell you the truth, no, I did not achieve everything that was on my list for 2012. I did not skydive from an airplane. I did not get a driving license. I did not secure that Training contract. But I did not give up either.
I would however like to think that I’ve achieved something more important than all of the above. I’ve learned A LOT. About the law, about life, about myself, about what I want to do in life. About what I don’t want to do in life. About who I would like to make friends with and keep in touch with no matter what. About who I could easily let go of since they don’t quite deserve my time or attention.
I have grown. Both personally and professionally. I have taken the first step to building a profile for myself in the professional world, and I have stuck to it and built upon it all year-long. I have raised the bar. I have set higher goals for myself. For my life. Both personal and professional.
And I sincerely herein declare that I will stick to them all year-long in 2013 and beyond.
And I wholeheartedly thank everyone who has been involved in making this year so awesome! You know who you are, if you’re reading!
And I know there is a lot more to come. I am just much more aware of how to get it. Because as someone clever once said, we can have it all. Just not all at once. But who knows…
I wish you all a wonderful Christmas and a great year ahead! Don’t stop believing. And never NEVER give up! Miracles DO happen. And hard work DOES get rewarded! I’d like to think I am just one living example…
Lawfully yours,
Val
raising the bar 