Apparently This is The Story of How I Got to Where I Am

It seems as if I've been talking about starting a blog and gathering information for so long now that I can't believe I'm sitting down to finally write my first entry.  Then again, the entire past 3 years of my life have been such a blur that I still can't grasp the reality of where I am today.

Exactly 3 years and 12 days ago, I moved to San Diego, CA.  I had grown up in Richmond, VA and lived in the same house my entire life up until my 4 wonderful years at this great place called Virginia Tech.  I'd never been past the East Coast despite having traveled to Europe a few times, but California is a place I had dreamt of since I was a little girl.  The day I flew out to San Diego, I arrived with simply two suitcases and a carry-on.  I knew no one.  I had never been there before.  All I really knew was that I was signed-up to begin law school in a few weeks.  I'll never forget entering my first apartment and staring at the bare, empty walls as I waited for my rental furniture to arrive.  I felt alone and uncertain of my decision because it wasn't in my personality to do something so drastic.  I was always shy growing up and to be honest, I'm still amazed that I made that move.  That day I wasn't sure if 3 years from then I would be full of regret or if I would have even lasted in San Diego, but now I can say with confidence that I made a crazy choice that ended up being the best thing that ever happened to me.

When people ask me why I chose law school, I don't ever have a direct answer.  I grew up with teachers always telling me law school would be a good choice for me and I knew my strength had always been in writing, but as the end of my college years were coming to a close, I still had no clue what I wanted to do.  (Disclaimer: I still have no clue what I want to do.)  My major was Psychology so it was no secret that I pretty much had to go through more schooling to make my degree worthwhile.  I had great opportunities with internships in Clinical Psychology, which is what I had been convinced I wanted to do, but those internships taught me that was exactly what I don't want to do.  Actually, most of my 24 years of life have only taught me what I don't want to do.

The summer before my Senior year of college, I studied abroad.  It was a fast-paced traveling program where we explored London, Paris, Rome, Prague, Athens, Munich, and Wales.  It was during this trip that I realized I needed to stop listening to other people and their negativity and do something that might interest me.  This is why, when I came back to America I signed up for the LSAT and decided I would give law school a chance.  I only applied to schools in Florida and California because I hate cold weather.  In the end, San Diego was the choice (mostly because it was where I was offered the most scholarship money).

3 years of law school were tough, but I can honestly say NOTHING prepared me for how difficult 75 days straight of 10-12 hour study days of bar prep would be followed by a 3 day exam that is the equivalent of the CA Bar's idea of fraternity pledge week for incoming lawyers.  It's been 12 days since I completed the exam, most of which have been spent sleeping, figuring out where I'm going to move to as I'm currently homeless, and oh yeah, finding a paying job.

The world of being a Post Bar Candidate is odd.  I'm not really sure what to do with my time because I'm so used to just waking up and picking up my Barbri books.  It's an awkward phase in someone's life, especially for those of us in CA because we don't find out results until November 21st.  As for me, its even stranger because I'm so young.  This will be the first time in 21 years that I won't be starting school in a few weeks.  I feel lost because school has always been my comfort zone and the one thing I'm really good at and now suddenly I'm thrown into unfamiliar territory.

At the beginning of Bar Prep in May, I encountered an unfortunate and unexpected situation that made going through the whole bar study process even more difficult.  I wasn't able to exercise for a while so I had lost what I would normally use as stress relief.  This is when I turned to online shopping.  

I became addicted to subscription boxes and getting beauty and fashion deals.  I was amazed that I hadn't ever discovered these things before.  I discovered a new hobby that I had fallen in love with and I'll be the first to admit at times, it got a little out of control.  (I'm sure you can only imagine my boyfriend's reaction when one week I received 10 packages.)

I felt this urge to interrupt my rambling with a picture of some of my favorite things in pink (yes I got through bar prep with pink sharpies, pens, highlighters, and even pink legal pads...maybe I should attribute my going to law school to Legally Blonde).  Gerbera daisies are my favorite flower and I painted this mason jar on my own one night in a panicked moment that the Bar was 50 days away.  Products pictured: LVX Nail Lacquer in Lolli, Pixi by Petra Shea Butter Lip Balm in Pixi Pink, EXCLUSIVE Birchbox Pink Jouer Moisturizing Lip Gloss

Long story short, I ended up loving this new found hobby so much that I've been playing with the idea of creating a blog where I share my reviews, suggestions, tips, and any other random thoughts while throwing in my perspective as a 24-year old law school graduate.  Prior to this summer, I owned 5 nail polish shades and wore the same exact make-up every day.  Let's just say, that's changed drastically and I've finally found the fun in being a girl.

I promise the rest of my posts won't be this long and I hope you read my blog and join me on this journey as I explore all that life has to offer me.

Please feel free to send any comments or suggestions, I always love feedback!

XOXO,

Jen