Take me to the River.
What others see as perverse manipulation of language and logic, law students (and then lawyers) see a quest for truth. Justice Holmes suggested that "thinking like a lawyer" necessarily entailed extricating law from morality.
After being medically evacuated from Guatemala as a Peace Corps volunteer for a pulmonary embolism, I felt powerless and limited. After months of healing and the brutal realization that I would not be able to return to finish my service, I shifted my focus to law school and the opportunity that it would bring. And, regardless of what my stress levels would indicate, I love it. I thrive on the brutal intensity and feel buoyed by the brilliance of those around me as only a true masochist would. But despite my adoration of this legal life, something is still missing. At the end of this month I will temporarily leave this grueling mind out of body experience to search for an adulterated fusion of the life of adventure and sentiment I knew with the order and empowerment of the law which I've grown to cherish. As I said in my interview for the fellowship I received, I feel that this is a confluence in my life.
Calling my journey this is as much a shameless pun as it is true, because come January, I will be traveling throughout Southeast Asia and Eastern Africa and FOLLOWING THE RIVER. I will travel to Thailand, Burma, Singapore, India, Nepal, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania finding water anywhere I can. I want to experience how people interact with water on a personal level and how this is influenced (or not affected at all by) their legal entitlements to it.
And, regardless of any hope or expectation I have about the experience I am about to have, I acknowledge that there is no solution, no objective truth and that even though law may attempt to be devoid of morality, the human experience is not. A good friend reminded me of this and empowered me to not look for any object truth or order, but to experience the enigma and embrace the madness.
"I have come to believe that the whole world is an enigma, a harmless enigma that is made terrible by our own mad attempts to interpret it as though it had an underlying truth." - Umberto Eco
After being medically evacuated from Guatemala as a Peace Corps volunteer for a pulmonary embolism, I felt powerless and limited. After months of healing and the brutal realization that I would not be able to return to finish my service, I shifted my focus to law school and the opportunity that it would bring. And, regardless of what my stress levels would indicate, I love it. I thrive on the brutal intensity and feel buoyed by the brilliance of those around me as only a true masochist would. But despite my adoration of this legal life, something is still missing. At the end of this month I will temporarily leave this grueling mind out of body experience to search for an adulterated fusion of the life of adventure and sentiment I knew with the order and empowerment of the law which I've grown to cherish. As I said in my interview for the fellowship I received, I feel that this is a confluence in my life.
Calling my journey this is as much a shameless pun as it is true, because come January, I will be traveling throughout Southeast Asia and Eastern Africa and FOLLOWING THE RIVER. I will travel to Thailand, Burma, Singapore, India, Nepal, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania finding water anywhere I can. I want to experience how people interact with water on a personal level and how this is influenced (or not affected at all by) their legal entitlements to it.
And, regardless of any hope or expectation I have about the experience I am about to have, I acknowledge that there is no solution, no objective truth and that even though law may attempt to be devoid of morality, the human experience is not. A good friend reminded me of this and empowered me to not look for any object truth or order, but to experience the enigma and embrace the madness.
"I have come to believe that the whole world is an enigma, a harmless enigma that is made terrible by our own mad attempts to interpret it as though it had an underlying truth." - Umberto Eco
Happy New Year sweet niece! We're three days into the New Year and you're on your way on this incredible JOURNEY! What this year will unfold for you truly amazing! We love you, support you, praying for you! Truly a life-changing experience only comes around once! Enjoy, be safe! Happy Trails abroad!! We love you darlin!!
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