The Trials of Life

I thought this week I would write on something going on in my life right now. In less than two years time, I will be graduating high school. Preceding this joyous occasion, unfortunately, comes a fairly hefty responsibility: I have to not only apply to various universities and get accepted, but also choose one of them to attend. An inner dialogue – a debate, if you will – has been bouncing from within me for the past few years. I have always been conflicted about choosing to pursue law or technology.

Now immediately I know what some of you are thinking. “Whoah, wait!” you may explaim in sheer disbelief. “Trials? Life? Law? Future? Did he just use a pun in the title of a blog post?” You’re damn right I did! Now, back on topic. Throughout the past few months I have been devoting a certain percentage of my time to an extracurricular sponsored by the Nebraska State Bar Foundation. Schools from across the state compete in what has been labeled as mock trial. Up until this fall when I once again began to participate in mock trial, I had myself convinced that I was going to pursue a degree in technology such as computer science or more specific, network-related majors offered by a select few colleges (namely Purdue).

My recent work in preparing for competitions has refueled the inner debate between life routes. I understand that the two, technology and law, are not mutually exclusive. Ironically enough, however, I have no interest at all in pursuing a career in copyright law or researching the constitutionality of net neutrality or anything such as that. I have interest in litigation and doing research for the purpose of litigation. On the flip side, I’m not sure how cost-effective it would be to pursue a career in information technology after attending law school. The job market of the I.T. field is also worrisome. I read every day on forums I browse about how someone, despite extensive qualifications, is having trouble landing even an entry-level position. Alternatively, there is a supposed relative shortage of lawyers due to the economy turning law school tuition payments from difficult to impossible. All in all, there is a lot to consider.

Essentially this diatribe is just my way of whining about how I don’t know what I want to do with my life. I had this moment where I thought I was so far ahead of the game – I had my priorities set and I wasn’t backing down… and then I did. We’ll see how things turn out, I guess. A quote to leave you with:

“The best thing about the future is that it comes only one day at a time.”

- Abraham Lincoln