Year in Review: 2016

Celebrating almost a decade of reflecting on an annual basis!

Here we go...

January: Recovered from the trauma of receiving the worst grades I've ever gotten from an institution and suddenly wondering if school was right for me, if I should just give up again... But kept on keepin' on and applied to almost every single thing that came across my inbox and more. Also recovered from speaking with my "counselor" about my options (given the very low levels of enthusiasm on said counselor's part...). Overall, also rough because I was explicitly told that law school isn't about learning, but about a militant pursuit of knowing the format and the rules and the template. Never a fun thing to hear when you're drowning in loans to make something of yourself.

February: Fairly quiet, so far as I can remember... Valentine's Day dramatics accompanied by a good dinner at Le Diplomat. Rocky points throughout, but nothing awful. Leap Year, aka Maria's true birthday, which I didn't end up being able to go back for. EJF Auction (so scared of having to plan the 2017 one...) Also on Leap Day, received one of the best phone calls I have ever gotten. <3 nbsp="" p="">
March: Barrister's Ball, New Orleans service trip, speed-writing briefs for moot court, discovering the good parts of being a law student/aspiring lawyer again. Trying to keep afloat and reconcile my immense fear of failure and innate anxieties with the need to continue to watch a lot of TV.

April: Balayaged my hair, ran the Cherry Blossom 10 miler in awful, winter-level weather... Decided I probably will never have a good weather day for any DC race, between hurricanes, wind, and freezing temps. Started brief week, which was awful and required a lot of effort and printing and highlighting the same things over and over again.

May: Finals part 2! Realized how much weight I had gained... Oops. Champagne toast, study group love, drinking finale. Surviving. At the end of the month, went to orientation in sunny CA, loved every moment. Had an amazing, unforgettable time.

June: Started working for real, remembering how to network and get to know people, getting a taste for real work and how it all goes, living in Boston and learning to love the city that I never stopped comparing to NY... but once I let that go, it was smooth sailing. Brexit! Also, discovered the megaformer workouts and my core was forever changed.

July: Continued to work, July 4th in Boston, hanging out and enjoying the last few weeks of fun and food and booze and networking.

August: Preparing to go back to school and interview with a bunch of strangers who probably already made their judgments based on certain numbers and names on your resume, but trying to convince them you were either great or affirming their belief that you were. Starting to get back into the drift of things, going back and forth and earning Amtrak rewards.

September: Feeling like a sophomore, taking on too many things, externing, getting to know my culture and heritage better. Hitting VIB Rouge.

October: Birthday!!!! Wahooooo. And my first time wearing a completely non-slutty Halloween costume and only going out one night basically.

November: The month when it all changed. Dealing with it. Trying to learn Tax as quickly as possible.  Thanksgiving. Angry t-shirts. Relishing in not having to write a memo for 10 days. But also sad because this time I didn't go to Spain...

December: Finals, learning to ski, procrastinating a paper, going to Boston for one night on NYE, eating more, Austin trip with bae, celebrating and reflecting on the year that passed.