We received this the other day; I don't know the exact circumstances under which it was written, but I like to think the author hit his breaking point and decided to vent by sending us an email. He says it so well, I pretty much have nothing to add (which is very rare indeed).
Subject: THE WHOLE TRUTH AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH...
Thank you for being a beacon of truth to the innocent and naive contemplating law school. If I had it to do over again I would be an engineer or architect, but alas I am too old, bitter and jaded at this point to admit my mistake and start over from scratch. I too (being the approval seeking type I am) counseled with other attorneys and lawyers (there is a difference sometimes) about my vision of being the next great legal mind. They all - to the person - told me that it was not what it’s cracked up to be, that being a law student is not much better than being in the boil unit of the local medical facility, and that being a lawyer was a thankless, mind numbing, and usually unrewarding job. Instead of taking this solicited advice I was certain that I had stumbled onto directions to the mythical cities of Quivira, Cíbola, Shangri-La or El Dorado, or found the Fountain of Youth . . . I believed with all my heart they were saying these horrible things to keep me from entering the unbelievable life of enlightenment and joy that they greedily wanted to themselves. I was - with all this negativity - certain that I was headed for something so great and so wonderful, that an elaborate conspiracy had been erected to keep the weak at heart, or the cowardly, out of the “greatest profession” in history. Boy do I feel stupid now. It is closer to the “oldest profession” than the greatest. And while I have managed to distinguish myself and accumulate some degree of economic security, I am still overwhelmed every day with the feeling that I was totally screwed. More than ten years later half my graduating class that I know is out of the profession and happy or in the profession and as bitter as me. In quiet moments each and every attorney I converse with admits that they feel as I do about their chosen vocation. I know that any non-L reading this will probably feel as I did but at least I can sleep at night knowing that I told the truth about my profession. Keep up the good work guys.
Don
