-- AndresAguilar - 20 May 2023

Growing up, I have always felt like the path to my future was laid out before me. It seemed like I was always destined to continue to go to school until I was able to find a suitable job that made those around me happy. It seems like this dynamic with those around me has always persisted, even still while I am here in Law school.

During my childhood I was fortunate enough to have both of my parents in the house; however, this is likely the source of most of the external pressure I felt regarding my future career. My mother expressed her desire for me to obtain a good paying job so I could provide for myself in the future. My father, who is an attorney in Arizona, shared these sentiments but I believe he secretly wanted me to follow in his footsteps. Although he undoubtedly had good intentions, as did my mother, these expectations weighed heavily on me and made me feel as though I had no other career choice. Additionally, my grandmother, now retired, was a judge in Arizona as well. This combination in my family made me feel as though I had to carry on the family tradition and practice the law in the future. As a result, I set my sights on law school as I continued down my educational path.

For undergraduate school I attended Arizona State University; a small little rebellion as it was 2 hours away from my hometown, allowing me some sense of independence. Although Law school was still the ultimate goal, this new found independence gave me some sense of freedom that helped to differentiate myself from the rest of my family. Here, I was able to explore different ideas and areas so I could truly find something that sparked my interest. It was also during this time I discovered new interests and skills as well. It was ultimately during this time I settled on the idea that I would pursue law school in the future; however, it would be in a way that reflected my own interest and differentiated myself from the rest of my family who practice law. During my academic career in undergrad I discovered I gravitated towards more social problems as opposed to scientific ones. As a result, I took on Political Science as a major. While I was interested in the topics, I knew I would never participate in politics and knew this served as a stepping stone to get into Law School in the future. With this in mind, I continued to explore different areas to find something I truly enjoyed. I was finally able to discover this near the end of my undergraduate journey. It was at this point in time that I began taking classes that focused on energy policy and production. This fascinated me as we discussed how law and policies shaped such an important industry that impacted every aspect of modern life. These courses truly had an impact on me as they opened my eyes to a whole new area of law I could pursue in the future. Additionally, as the energy industry is such an important part of modern day life, the work would feel more meaningful to me as I would know that what I am doing would impact the rest of society in some way.

Moreover, during my undergraduate experience I discovered other areas that piqued my interest as well. While I was attending school, I also held several jobs off campus as well. Most of these jobs were in the retail industry as I worked in various stores in one of the malls in the city. It was during this time I discovered I was interested in the fashion industry as well. Law school made me realize the law plays a larger role in the fashion and retail industry that I first anticipated. As a result, I realized I could continue to work in an industry that I am already familiar with in the future but in a whole different way.

Given my desire to differentiate myself from the rest of my family in the legal field, I believe I have finally found a way. Continuing down this path is my own choice since I am interested in the various fields of law and how they interact with the rest of society. As a result, I believe I can be happy continuing down this path all while establishing my own practice. I believe this is a major way for me to differentiate myself from my family as most of them work in the public sector. As an attorney and as a judge both my father and nana, respectively, worked for the government. Instead by establishing my own practice in the private sector I believe I can establish myself as different in a major way. Furthermore, establishing my own practice would allow me to further explore my own interest and practice an area that I am best suited for. For example, based on my academic background and work experience, my practice can be based around the fashion / retail industry and the energy and waste it produces. Although niche, this area of law could definitely be interesting to me as I can utilize the interests I discovered previous to law school.

Establishing my own practice and pursuing areas of law that I am more interested in would help me break free from the shackles of the expectations of my family. Although I am still becoming a lawyer, it is now of my own volition and not as a result of familial pressures. Additionally, I would be carving out my own path that would allow me to have a more fulfilling career in the future instead of one that simply follows the path that was laid out before me.