five months later...

It's so hard to keep this smile from my face,
Losing control, yeah, I'm all over the place,
Clowns to the left of me, Jokers to the right,
Here I am, stuck in the middle with you.

-Stealers Wheel

When I moved to the Panhandle, I couldn’t have imagined just how much my life would change in a matter of months. Since the beginning of September…

I have turned into a full-time litigator with a practice that consumes me with its highs, its lows, and the constant barrage of interesting new problems I have to solve every day. I meet people from every walk of life. I get paid handsomely for some of it, and I do a lot of work for free too. It’s the greatest feeling in the world to solve a problem for somebody. And people seem to appreciate it. Just yesterday, a client sent me flowers. Cool, huh?

I thought I was busy during the bar exam. I was, but not like this. Instead of focusing on that one task, I’m juggling about a zillion things at once. The law practice itself is a full-time balancing act. It’s not like being Matlock and having just one client to focus on. I have to concentrate on several and sometimes even dozens at a time. And each one expects to be my top priority. Law practice isn’t the only thing though. Five months ago, if you had told me I would be moonlighting as small business owner, teacher, volunteer, and political advisor I would have laughed in your face. All of that just sort of crept up on me; five months ago, I was just a kid. I still consider myself one.

Add in getting to know a new city and making new friends, and I find myself acting like the Tasmanian Devil about 90% of the time.

The best part is that I’m loving every minute of it. Except the wind.