Channeling Elle Woods

Oh woe is law school, moans DisgruntledLawStudent at least once a day. Ok, at least 100 times a day. But today I had a moment of channeling a fictional law student I can quote in any given situation...particularly this one.

All those who know me know that I find this law school to be really good at making people feel mediocre. All the time. It does not matter what grades I'm getting, there is still that "Congratulations, you're mediocre!" banner waving high above the heads of hopeful litigators day in and day out. And there's that whole selling my soul to the corporate devil that keeps me up at night.

But the one thing said law school does and does well are their clinics. A total of 10 clinics represent battered women, low income individuals seeking to secure housing, landlord/tenant issues, criminal justice issues, juvenile justice issue, and, most exciting to me, asylum seekers coming to the clinic as a last ditch effort to gain asylum in the U.S.

The Center for Applied Legal Studies is the asylum clinic. In pairs of 2 students take a case from start to finish, ending with representation in a court against the department of Homeland Security. I applied last year and did not get in. I applied this year and the decisions came out today.

I was really tentative about getting my hopes up, as I did last year, even with my experience from this past summer. CALS has the highest number of applicants and only 24 total slots for the year--12 in the Fall and 12 in the Spring. So I submitted my application telling myself that either way would be ok...

Here is the scene as I went to the door to check the list to see if I had been one of the lucky ones, the moment of channeling Elle Woods:

SCENE:

In a Harvard Law hallway, looking at the list of the 4 people chose for the prestigious internship with the fancy Boston Law firm. Warner gets in, bitchy girlfriend gets in, token hostile girl gets in. The rest of the students are milling around. Elle walks up.

Students: who else is there? Who is the fourth slot going to (as Elle pushes her way to the front of the line)

********We hear rustling and murmuring, see Elle turn around and emerge, huge Grin on her face*******

Elle: ME! (As she pushes toward Warner and bitchy girlfriend)

Elle: oh Warner, remember after winter formal last year when we spent those four amazing hours in the hot tub togeher?

Warner: yea--uh, no, no I don't (bitchy girlfriend glaring)

Elle: Well this is SO MUCH BETTER THAN THAT! Excuse me, I have some shopping to do...

END SCENE
I am Elle. I was chosen. THE LAST SLOT GOES TO ME! And suddenly DisgruntledLawStudent becomes a little less disgruntled and a little more hopeful for the year to come.

I could not be more ecstatic.