Building, Not Stumbling Blocks

Today I accompanied one of our senior attorneys to watch him petition the court for something I hadn't done before. While waiting outside the courtroom, I ran into a law student whom I knew from last year. 

It was an incredible flashback experience because this student was so worried about law school, the current curriculum, and getting everything right. More pointedly, this student was worried about their moot court case. For those who have been graciously spared from moot court, you exhaust incredible amounts of time, energy, frustration and angst into a fake case. At the end of the day, you've accomplished nothing more than exhausting oxygen and a forest full of paper. 

Not to belittle her anxiety, but deep down inside I began smiling as she explained how nervous and frustrated she was. After my first year in practice of dealing with real world dollars, real world expectations and disappointments, the law school pains that were once very real to me seemed petty. Those past pupil hurdles, while important in my development in crafting legal skills, paled in comparison to advising a client to accept a real-money six figure settlement at mediation instead of going to trial. Usually in the school environment it's merely your grade (and maybe a modicum of your reputation) that is at stake.

If anything it was a reminder that there are always bigger problems to face and your current problems are not stumbling blocks but rather building blocks for you to accomplish the next obstacle.