Travelling=Contentment & Fulfillment

My first seat deposit has been made!  After visiting Southern Illinois University School of Law last week, I know that my decision is good.  Nothing about the trip made me nervous, except the distance.  Six hours is an awfully long travel time.  Everything about the school was perfect, though.  The students were friendly (and happy with their choices), the professors were eager for me, the faculty was extremely helpful, and the grounds were peaceful.  I found the perfect place to live (utilities included; they’ll find roommates for me; leases are individual; most importantly—I will have my own bathroom).  I am anxious to start.

And I am very anxious to see what I earn on the next LSAT.  Studying has been especially hard this past week with travelling to Carbondale and then my quarterly training in Springfield with AmeriCorps.  There goes five full days.  However, the travel was all necessary.  For AmeriCorps, we trained a few hundred elementary students in Citizen CPR and taught others basic emergency response practices.  I crawled on the floor with special education students to show how you stay away from smoke; watched colleagues stop, drop, cover, and roll with students; and challenged students to clearly assess how they would react  to someone in urgent need.  It was very fulfilling.  That is my everyday.  I love my job more than I thought I would and more than I usually realize.  Every day I make a difference.  Every day I teach children how to save lives.  Every day the children teach me.

Yesterday, as I was preparing a VHS tape, the television was on C-SPAN’s coverage of the budget hearing.  A fifth grader shouted, “Yay! Judge Judy!” I asked these accelerated students what we were watching. “Where are they?  What’s happening here?”  None of these brilliant students knew.  I gave an impromptu civics lesson on the government provided television station; what a budget is; and the similarities and differences between personal & federal budgets.  I never stopped to think about how much knowledge I have on little things like this.  

Teaching is a great inspiration to learn more, do better, and do good.  AmeriCorps is the best thing I could have done with my interim period between my undergraduate and postgraduate studies.  I have had a million opportunities I would not have had anywhere else.  I hope I never forget it.

Maybe Libraries Aren't for Studying

The other day I went to the library to study.  I had my handy book of prep tests and I was ready to s.t.u.d.y.!  I settled into a cozy section of the public library and got right to work.  I performed decently, but as I was checking my answers, I noticed a guy sitting on the floor between two book stacks near me.  I had an instinct that he wasn’t reading, but ignored it for a little while.  I took another test and when I was done, he was still sitting there.  I watched him for a while and realized that he wasn’t enthralled by a novel like I assumed.  I knew this because he was easily distracted—looking over his shoulder when there was a noise; looking toward the aisle when someone walked past.  I then saw his chin lowering toward the ground.  Not like he was looking down, but like he was peering below the bottom shelf, straight ahead towards me.  I was wearing a dress and became nervous, so I put my coat over my legs.  Not more than 30 seconds later, he put his book on the shelf and left.

I was frozen in disbelief for a few seconds, then realized that I wanted to see where he was going.  I watched him walk down the stairs and look up at me.  I gave him the, “If I ever catch you looking at me again, I’ll slit your neck” look…or whatever angry face I could muster.  I felt absolutely violated and was shaking a bit.  I probably looked confused and frightened.

 I looked at the book he was reading (pictured).  Definitely a pervert.  Thank goodness I have intuition…and that I sit like a lady.