How did I get here?
Alright, I need to get something off my chest. Something that has bothered me all morning from the point I got to the office through Court to right friggin' now.
And that is:
Why am I in a profession that I clearly do not belong in?
The question, which I have asked myself numerous times before, once again reared its angry head while I was on my way into work. As I shuffeled in, I noticed that the other attorneys entering my building were decked out in their newly pressed suits, perfectly shined shoes, crisp shirts with appropriately matching ties, their faces freshly shaven, and hair cut in just the right way.
And then there was me... non-pressed white dress shirt untucked with a crooked black tie hanging from my neck, baggy jeans that I think were last washed sometime during the month of March, black Airwalk sneakers, hair that has not been cut in months, and as documented a couple of days ago, I shaved last Thursday.
Furthermore, instead of the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, or any local daily paper in my hand, I had the latest issue of Spin Magazine from which I was reading an article announcing their new sex columnist. Actually, it was really the fact that I was reading this magazine and that article that caused me to really question what exactly I am doing at my current job.
Is it me or do I not belong here? And even further, am I really supposed to be an attorney?
I don't dress like these people, and I am pretty sure that most of them would not be reading a magazine article on sex advice although many of them probably need it. (HEY-O) The point being is that I have four months or so left at my current gig, and I am pretty sure that it is high time to start seriously evaluating my next step in life...
or else I better start dressing like one of the tribe, i guess?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
12 comments:
F*%& No!! You can dress however you want to. Don't succumb to your profession! As to whether you are in the right profession...I asked myself this same question while I was in Spain. Are you happy at work? My answer...no, so I quit my job (more on that tonight). Back to the point...don't be unhappy with your job because you don't fit in. There are 1 million lawyers out there with pressed suits, and matching ties, but there are very few, hippie, unwashed, spin reading mo-fo's out there. Be proud you are original.
I have to echo Britt's sentiments. What you are wearing/reading has little or no bearing on whether you belong in a certain profession.
You can feel like an outsider without there being an negative effects. Most of the people around me know that I am not like them, but it doesn't matter and I even quite enjoy my status as a pariah.
But I think there's bigger issues about your lawyering than just shaving. Maybe civil municipal law isn't your bag. There are countless other fields of law you can branch out into, and probably most of them have need of dude like you.
And you may tell yourself, this is not my beautiful house. And you may tell yourself, this is not my beautiful wife.
I don't think that really fits what you're saying, but your post's title put that in my head.
I'm with Bob Jingle and Britt. You have a heaping intelligence coupled with a fierce competitive streak and are fast on your feet (verbally and literally). You were born to lawyer. You just may not be in the right field.
As a lawyer myself, I'm with Rain Delay. Looking the part is part of the job. The outward manifestation, a suit and tie, is evidence of more that a professional look. To quote a chick movie, Hitch, "Power suit, power tie, power steering." It's all about the attitude and if you don't embrace it, you will never really fit in. Sad, but true.
I love creating conversation over something like this, but I don't necessarily agree with the sentiment that possibly there is something else for me to do in the law per se. I think that after going to law school, working in the law for almost three years, and having many friends involved in the law, I am able to make a fairly competent assessment of what is out there, and it's pretty bleak. At the core, no matter what you do as an attorney, the law is involved which is not fun for anyone involved. And to me and I know this will sound arrogant just simply seems to be a complete waste of me.
Now as a caveat, this is not to say that there are not a variety of things that I could do with a law degree without actually being a full blown attorney. What those opportunities and positions are, are exactly what I need to figure out in making my next move in the chess game we call life.
Is paf saying that if you don't have a nice suit on, you aren't a good lawyer? I think that appearances are important but I don't think it's a one to one relationship. There have been painters who dress better than lawyers and lawyers who dress like slobs. I don't think you have to fit into any mold to "make it."
That being said, Rain Delay, you've only experienced one very small set of lawyering. And while it may not jive with you, don't be too quick to judge (haha) law as a whole based on those experiences. Now, I realize that I may be talking aout of my ass, but I think there is much that is still fascinating about being a lawyer. I know that I'm always interested in what stories you tell about your job.
Oh, and barely holding a position as a deadend secretary for an internal audit department, I thoroughly agree with Popstar. You are not your job.
Isn't blogging just an exercise in self-indulgence and thus a little whining is always going to be part of the equation? And by posting in that fashion, aren't you just whining about my whining?
et tu anonymous?
Not to get all Bob Guthrie on you, but your lawyer experience and degree opens up a lot of doors in business. A lot of people I've dealt with in my vast career (ok, 5.5 years of slinging books) were lawyers first and then become editorial directors or VPs of our internet and publishing division or professors or insanely high-priced call girls.
So if the Law & Order stuff ain't working for you, definitely pursue other areas. People who know and/or can interpret the law are in high demand in the biz world.
I find the fact that there is so much commentary on a post that in its beginning was very tongue in cheek to be very cool. I did not mean to start a debate about my outlook on my future but maybe that is exactly what I needed. Keep it up suckers... even you anonymous, you giant scrotum.
and yes that was tongue and cheek... dammit.
I don't know if I quite approve of you using the phrase "tounge in cheek" with "giant scrotum." If you are really looking for a different direction in life, that is one way to go.
WTF
Maybe the other anonymous person is just pissed that instead of being your usual entertainingly angry self you are turning into a whiner.
Post a Comment