“My parents pressured me into it”
For many people, their parents are the most influential people in their lives. Some people won’t make any decision without consulting mom and dad. Over time, parents tend to pick up on this trend and subtly try to steer their child in the right direction. That is, right for the parents.
It’s human nature for groups of people to pick out one member of the group with the weakest trait and make fun of them. For example, all the football players make fun of the kickers; kids in the business college make fun of marketing majors; and the rest of Europe makes fun of Greece.
Your parents are no different. In their little circle of friends, they want to make sure that you aren’t the kicker, marketing major, or Greek child amongst the group. Thus, when they hint to you that you should go to law school, they are looking out for themselves as much as they are looking out for you. After all, as long as you are in law school and not selling aluminum siding and living in their basement, they are assured of having bragging rights over at least some of the parents.
Parental pressure comes in several forms. They could try to flatter you: “Son, you have a good head on your shoulders and a way with words. You should be a lawyer.” Or they might be passive-aggressive: “You know, Judy Rosenbloom’s son Jared just got his law degree and is going to be working in New York City. What a nice young man he must be.” Or, in extreme situations, they could threaten you: “God damnit, we are sick of cleaning up your messes. First it was the car you wrapped around a tree in high school, and then that girl you knocked up in college. Over my dead body are you going to live here for free while you take time to ‘find yourself’. You are going to go to law school, just like we talked about!”
The problem here is that no matter how much they want you to do something, unless you want to do it too, you are just setting yourself up for a big disappointment. While you might want to please your parents, take the following into consideration: You are the one going to class, studying, taking exams, and trying to handle the pressure; you are more likely than not going to be paying the bills for your education; and you are the one who has to live with the decision, not them.
But you will be making your parents happy, and they can't wait to be able to gush when they tell their friends "Remember that child molester that used to terrorize our neighborhood? Our little Johnny got him an early release!"
On the other hand, if law school doesn't work out like you planned, they'll have to shamefully tell their friends that you've become the kicker of attorneys: A public defender.
