In six days, I will officially have turned in the last of my research papers and be done with all Law School related work forever. It's a strange feeling of simultaneously thinking "finally!" and "holy crap that was fast". I feel like it's been an incredibly long journey to get here, so much has happened in the past three years-- but at the same time, I can remember my first day of Law School like it was just yesterday.
(2013 IPF Raw Worlds-- spent my 1st year of law school trying to learn how to be a law student, and prep for my first International Level Competition)
It's also incredibly frustrating because I feel as though I'm done with law school, just as I was starting to "get the hang of" law school. It's like you spend your first year drowning, your second year you calm down enough to start to try and tread water, and then in your third year (just when you're starting to doggy paddle and almost swim) you're done. The more I reflected on this feeling of frustration, the more I realized-- maybe that's the point.
When I say "maybe that's the point" I mean-- maybe it's not so much the end product or the outcome, but rather the "figuring out" process that's most important. Learning how to learn, I think, is the most important skill I can develop. Learning how to build resiliency, and overcome impossible odds or obstacles-- is more important than any outcome for me. This is a principle that I think has been consistently coming up for me not only in school, but in relationships, in powerlifting, really in every aspect of my life. Degrees, PR's, records, Grades, all of that stuff in the end doesn't really matter. It's not like I'm walking around in life with all that stuff in my back pocket, ready to whip them out to "use". It's the "lessons learned" that I carry with me, hopefully utilizing and finding ways to apply them in all the various spheres of my life.
First time getting to meet and spend time with my EliteFTS fam at the Compound <3
Learning to apply lessons and principles from one type of challenge to a completely different sphere of life has made my life seem totally cohesive, rather than completely compartmentalized. This results in a feedback loop, where I'm always learning, applying, and benefitting from each and every challenge I encounter-- no matter what the context. This also means that "stress" doesn't really feel like "stress" anymore (within reason-- I'm still human, and feel overwhelmed at times). BUT with this sense of cohesiveness, I'm never thinking "oh man by working on this, I'm NOT working on this other thing, and therefore this is a detriment to my other responsibilities, etc.". Instead, everything I work on feels like it all works together-- every challenge is an opportunity for growth and progress, regardless of the specific task at hand.
Mandatory Disclaimer: I also didn't do it alone, I had plenty of mentors, peers, training partners, family, relationships, and so on-- that gently keeping me afloat as I learned, and I'm incredibly grateful for those support systems!