I left law school to...go back to community college?

After three semesters of absolute misery in law school, I made the decision to leave. I realized that I was only sticking to the plan I had made as a seventh-grader, and hadn't actually reevaluated what I wanted to do with my life as an adult. It turns out, once I sat down and gave it an ounce of thought, law wasn't it. Unfortunately, despite being all I've thought about for two months, I still haven't figured out what I really want to do!

I do have a few ideas, and have been looking into several different options. One idea involves starting a business that I never pictured myself doing before, but think that I would quite enjoy. More details on that at a later date. However, the significance of this possible business venture in my post today is that I have no experience in the field so I'm considering going back to school to learn the basics. At a community college.

There are masters programs in the field I am currently pondering, and even PhD programs. But that all seems a bit much, I think, when all I really need is a basic understanding of the field and a ton of experience. So I think that spending 3 semesters and $6,000 to get an associates degree, along with several internships, would be the best move. This option becomes increasingly attractive to me when I consider the massive amounts of debt I have incurred from my undergraduate degrees and a year and a half of law school. (Yikes!!)

It's crazy to think that just a few months ago I was working my butt off to earn a spot in the top 20% of my first-year law school class while caring for a toddler full-time, and now I'm considering starting over at a community college. I guess that just goes to show that you really never know where life will take you, and the plans you make for yourself when you're young will change in ways that you could never imagine.

Housewife Tutorials: Soft Pretzels

When I lived in Philly/South Jersey, I used to eat soft pretzels like they were going out of style. I actually lived next to a pretzel factory for about eight months. Then, for the five months that I worked at my (horrendous) office job, the administration used to bring in a huge box of soft pretzels almost every week, and sometimes more than once during the week. The constant influx of soft pretzels in my life definitely contributed to my weight gain during that period. However, since I haven't had a soft pretzel since my move to Charlotte over a year ago, I've been craving them lately. With midterms next week and my scholarship on the line, naturally I decided that I should make pretzels this weekend instead of devoting all of my time to studying.

Here's what you need:
1/2 c. warm water
1 t sugar
1 active dry yeast packet (I happened to have one left from the last time I made these pretzels...in 2012 when I was in undergrad. Ha!)

1 c. warm water
1 T sugar
1/2 t salt

3 3/4 c. flour

1 c. water
1/4 c. baking soda

kosher salt
butter

Here's what you do:
Stir 1/2 c. warm water and 1 t sugar in a bowl until dissolved. Sprinkle yeast on top. Let stand 10 min, then stir to dissolve yeast.

In another bowl, stir 1 c. warm water with 1 T sugar until dissolved, then add yeast mixture.

Measure out flour and add 1/2 t salt. Gradually mix the flour mixture into the yeast mixture until stiff.

Knead on a lightly floured surface for 5 minutes. Cover with a towel and let stand for 10 minutes.

Divide into 12 equal parts. Roll into ropes/snakes and form into pretzel shapes.

Mix baking soda and water, then gently dip pretzels in the mixture. Place on a greased baking sheet (my sister really wanted to stress that part when she originally wrote down the recipe for me...Perhaps she once forgot this step when making them).

Preheat the oven to 425.

Sprinkle pretzels with kosher salt.

Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden brown. *NOTE: With my crazy gas stove, I actually had to bake them at 400 for 10 minutes, because it gets super hot. However, I have made them with the normal temp/time with less fiery ovens in the past.

Once out of the oven, brush with butter. Apparently one of my past roommates stole my basting brush, so I was forced to just slap some butter on with a knife like some sort of barbarian. (Mum, please add this to my birthday list!)

Now you have a delicious batch of homemade soft pretzels to enjoy with cheese, mustard, or plain! Share one with a friend, classmate, coworker, or roommate and impress them with your culinary prowess...Or share with no one. After all, they didn't put in the labor to make them. Go ahead, treat yo' self!

dissolved yeast

mixing in the flour

dividing the dough...technical difficulties are preventing me from easily rotating these pictures, but since I really do need to study, law school is going to beat OCD today

just dough, but making me want to eat them already!

not the prettiest batch I've ever made, but just as delicious

We Need Maine More Than We Need Magary

Recently, some detestable flatlander decided that he would write an article entitled 'Maine: Do We Need It?'. First of all, shame on you, GQ, for publishing such rubbish. Seriously, your credibility just dropped about 85 points. You’re now in the negatives, down with the most unreliable of the supermarket tabloids. There are countless things wrong with the article, but let’s start by pointing out that this guy, Magary, claims that Maine is “hardly America.” Oh, honey. If you had actually stepped off your college campus during the time you spent in the state, you would have noticed that, with the exception of Texas, Maine is about as American as you can get. We are not exempt from the laws of the American government, and most of us likely respect and uphold them more than the people outside of Maine.

I spent eighteen years of my life living full-time in Maine, and probably another three if you add up all of my visits since. While I may currently be living in another state, my heart will forever be home in Maine. If this Magary detests us so much, why did he bother to spend four years at college here? Perhaps we gave him a tidy sum of tuition money. Our mistake. I hope his alma mater checks out their scholarship candidates a little more carefully next time.

Mainers, or Mainiacs, if you prefer, are genuine. We understand that you don’t get ahead by putting other people down. Magary, your article blatantly suggests that we abolish the state from our country, asking “do we need it?” Let me tell you why we do need it. Because in a country full of spoiled, entitled brats (not unlike yourself), Mainers still raise their kids to respect others. We raise them to do the right thing, even when it’s not the easy thing. We raise kids who learn the value of hard work. We take the time to teach our kids useful skills, rather than sitting them in front of the tv or an iPad all day. We instill in our children the importance of being kind to one another. Most importantly, we raise kids who aren’t afraid to stand up for themselves. We are tough, and we won’t stand for your rude and hateful comments (based on little to no fact).

In case you weren’t aware, our slogan is “Maine: The Way Life Should Be.” That isn’t by accident. Maine is the way life should be because it is a place where people work hard. The industries in Maine are those that require people to work off the land (or sea), waking up before dawn to go out and earn an honest living. It is a place where you can enjoy being with the people right in front of you, rather than on the internet or in your phone. A place where you can relax and take in the majestic wonders of nature: moose (people “from away” seem to be quite taken with that one), rivers, mountains, lakes, and forests. A place where someone will help you shovel out your driveway without expecting any payment or the return of a favor, simply because it’s the kind and helpful thing to do. Where else will you find good old-fashioned values and neighbors who actually care about one another?

In addition to our nifty slogan, we also have a state motto (betchya didn’t even look any of this up before spouting off your mouth): DIRIGO. Since you clearly lack any sort of actual intelligence or education (I’m guessing you spent much of your four years in “college” here partaking in the illicit drugs from the dealers you seemed to know so much about), let me fill you in. Dirigo is Latin for “I lead.” Now this next bit isn’t based on researched data so much as it is on personal experience, but our motto is fitting because the people of Maine are born leaders. We are courageous, strong, independent, and generous.

Before you go declaring that America would be better off without an entire community of hard-working and hospitable people, I suggest that you take a good hard look in the mirror. You make a great big deal about the people of Maine being racist (riiiiight, because you know the opinions of 1.33 million individuals), but how are you any better by proposing that we rid the country of a whole state? Additionally, condemning an entire population for the words spoken by a single man is a little foolish, don’t you think?

Mr. Magary, it is clear that you were not raised with the values of a Mainer, nor did any of the goodness that lives in the hearts of every true Mainer rub off on you in the time you spent in the Pine Tree state. Despite your vile article, I do agree with you on one point: “We should build a wall at [Maine’s] border to protect ourselves.” Yes, I believe that we should build a wall at our border to protect ourselves, the good people of Maine, from insufferable people like you.

Something To Be Proud Of

After three and a half of the most stressful months of my life, juggling ten-hour workdays and classes that took place long after I should have been in bed, I made it through my first set of law school finals!! My first semester was far from anything that could remotely be considered "fun." In fact, a more accurate description would be "torture," "hell," or "miserable beyond belief." Nevertheless, I made it out the other side with only minimal emotional damage.

I have never spent so much time or effort reading and studying in all of my academic career as I did in three and a half months of law school. Despite all of that studying, when my grades came in, all I had to show for my effort was my lowest GPA ever. They say that when you go to law school, you need to reevaluate your standards. Well "they" are right. You're in an environment where everyone is used to getting As with minimal effort and every single one of your classmates was at the top of their class. It's just common sense that most of those people will now become only "average" in the new environment, or {gulp} fall to the bottom of the class. Of course none of us want to be that person, but the harsh reality is that, despite our best efforts, the majority of us will end up there.

The learning curve of the first semester was the steepest I've ever encountered. That's appropriate, since it's also the semester in which I've learned the most. I don't think I've learned as much in any of my pre-law school years as I have in only one semester of law school. The material itself is interesting, but it also applies to practical situations in everyday life in a way that no other academic subject I've studied has.

While I was unhappy with my first-semester GPA, I have spent the following weeks trying to convince myself that I should be proud of my efforts. If nothing else, I should be proud of the fact that I didn't actually fail anything, especially considering that I struggled to stay awake in my late-night classes!! I am proud of myself for that. I'm also proud of myself for actually doing every single reading assignment! There were a lot of times in undergrad where I blew off my homework, because I didn't really need to do it to stay on the Dean's list. The ease of keeping up good grades made me lazy and complacent. I can honestly say that I've worked harder this semester than ever before in an academic environment. I'm proud of myself for keeping my integrity and kindheartedness intact in such a high-pressured and competitive environment. Many of my classmates did not display these qualities, choosing instead to become the worst possible versions of themselves (or maybe they're just THAT terrible anyway). Finally, I'm proud of myself for following through on the dream I've had since seventh grade. Although it's harder than I ever imagined it would be, every day I spend reading and trying to figure out WTF is going on in the cases I'm assigned is one day closer to reaching the goal I set for myself over a decade ago.

So here's to 2016: another year of hard work, and another year closer to reaching my goal!