THE THREE WORDS I'D SAY TO MY 18 YEAR OLD SELF

THE THREE WORDS I'D SAY TO MY 18 YEAR OLD SELF'

February 5, 2024

I saw a meme today that posed the question, what would you say to your 18 year old self using only three words. I always love these type of hypotheticals.

I believe I made mostly great life choices thus far but like everyone you think about how you could’ve did somethings differently. I love how things panned out but if I really had the choice to affect something I would put me on my current path sooner.

So what’s the three words I would say to myself? I would say “Become a Lawyer”. If you know anything about my back story, you know I didn’t give a clown’s nose about becoming a lawyer. It was more logical for someone like my brother or my mother to become one. My brother because, my Grandma would always tell him, “Jay you like to argue so much you need to become a lawyer” (wait until she find we spend 90% of our time avoiding arguing lol).

I would say my mother because she worked years as a paralegal so if she ever decided to go that route it would make sense. But me? No it made zero sense. Nothing about my life said I would be a lawyer, I was a nerdy kid that loved the creative arts (and obviously still do). My grades wasn’t top of the top.

Honestly I was the average student. My art skills weren’t praised, my grades weren’t praised, the only thing that stood out for me was my personal style and my sense of humor. I was “average” on paper but never did I look at myself as “average” I knew I was extraordinary from the beginning lol.

I would choose those three words because my 18 year old self would’ve been smart enough to know that don’t mean stop the arts but it would’ve gave me a north star much sooner. I made the decision to go to law school in 2015, when I was in a corner financially and was lost career wise. 2015, I was one year removed from undergrad, with no job in my field in sight. I was thinking I cannot be a struggling artist I have to make something happen and then reinvest my earnings into my arts.

So I thought I know I’ll become a lawyer, it then took me two years just to get into law school! Graduating in 2020, it took me until 2023 to become licensed! So that’s 8 years spent to gain the illustrious title of “attorney”.

If I was able to tell my 18 year old self “become a lawyer” my 18 year old self would’ve streamlined his life to make himself get into school any means necessary. Those three words would change so much, here’s how I imagined it would’ve played out. I still would’ve attended UAPB, but with those three words from Future me in my head, my major would’ve reflected law instead of marketing. I would’ve focused on gaining internships and working in a firm during school, which would’ve saved me from the agony of being a broke college student lol.

Knowing my infatuation with New York, I would’ve applied to every New York school possible. Also, I would’ve attended school immediately after undergrad, no breaks. I would’ve probably treated law school the same way I did in this timeline but having more knowledge about school in the alternate timeline, I would’ve had a bar prep program from the beginning lol. ( I never used one to get licensed but definitely would’ve did it in this scenario).

After passing the bar, would’ve been in New York licensed earlier, solving financial woes way quicker and enjoying success at an earlier age. With all that said I’m glad it did not happen that way. God made sure things happened exactly as they should. The endless L’s I took gave me much character growth and it makes me a better person everyday. These questions are fun because it make you think of endless possibilities but that is also the problem. Don’t get caught up in the “what ifs” and “what could’ve beens”, we’re in the now and God blessed us with the gift to be present. Make today count and avoid future regret at all costs, I know I will! #StayFocused

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HOW COVID-19 MAY AFFECT FUTURE CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS

HOW COVID-19 MAY AFFECT FUTURE CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS

By now, you’ve been affected by the world spread phenomenon of COVID-19 ,known throughout the world as Coronavirus. 

Coronavirus have impacted all of America, leaving many people out of work, not knowing where the next dollar may come from, and anxiously waiting for a Government check.

During this meltdown I thought about how would this impact future contracts with freelancers and businesses.

I. PANDEMIC CLAUSE

I can imagine after things go back to “normal”, people will want contract drafters to specify stipulations that will take place if another pandemic is in effect.

I can anticipate people would want things such as payment obligations, deadline extensions, or a complete void if pandemic prevents the obligations from being carried out.

You can also expect employees wanting businesses to have emergency funds in place or work from home conditions that will not negatively impact their pay.

II. PARTIES’ HEALTH

Without our health we are extremely limited in what we can accomplish. Hence the term “Health is Wealth”.

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I would also anticipate seeing language such as “ as long as parties are within reasonable health” and things of that nature.

Health will become such a focal point because after all this no one wants to work with anyone who is sick.

The slightest cough could send a room into a frenzy.

So parties would want to ensure health is the main priority so that any obligations that must be met will be met with a clear & sound mind and as much good physical health as possible.

III. ALL IN ALL

The Coronavirus is still running rampant throughout the world, devouring anyone who isn’t careful of its cobra clutches.

It is important we remain safe and prayed up.

When we are blessed to engage back in business, we should make sure all i’s are dotted and all our t’s are crossed, making sure we are aren’t caught off guard by a national pandemic like this again.

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WHY SUPPLIES ARE SO HIGH

WHY SUPPLIES ARE SO HIGH

Me at my art show, two weeks ago. I put a lot of money into, knowing it would be worth it for the monetary gain and exposure. Well worth the cost of entry.

I always wondered why supplies (i.e. art, music,) are so expensive. It doesn’t matter what field you are in the supplies are always more than what you would like to pay.

I think it clicked it to me after my art show and being in the final term of law school. 

When the supplies are used the right way, there is no cap on return of investment. I could spend thousands on art supplies: getting paper, markers, pencils etc. and make it all back with one sale. (Maybe a few more depending on expenses).

Since supplies are expensive, it’s disrespectful when people try to constantly low ball artists. It costs to produce fire please don’t think $20 should be the most you should pay for anything.

Also, I have this thought when it comes to law school. Although people complained for years about the prices of schooling and whether or not you need it, I think law school may be expensive for a different reason.

The impact and return on investment from law school can extremely outweigh the cost of education if your JD, that’s your Juris Doctor degree, is used correctly.

Possibly the most famous lawyer in existence.

Barack Obama, you know who he is lol.

Bryan Stevenson, Lawyer who fights for the poor and disenfranchised

Look at people like Bryan Stevenson, Barack Obama, Johnnie Cochran, and many other countless examples, whose impact greatly exceeds the cost of law school.

What is hundreds of thousands in costs and possible debt compared to the chance to literally save people lives, guide the free world, or take arguably the most notorious case in history.

These opportunities are almost priceless.

When you can acknowledge and accept everything has a barrier of entry, you can respect the fact that these prices are set for a reason.

When you spend that $1,000 on a keyboard, or those few hundreds on computer software, you won’t let that money go to waste, especially if its your own hard earned money!

No sir! You’re going to put your best foot forward making sure every penny spent will earn you back something even if its only spiritual gain and not a monetary increase.

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I CAN HANDLE IT NOW BRO

I CAN HANDLE IT NOW BRO

Look at these black brothers striving for success!

My upcoming schedule for school seems like hell on paper. I have six classes and taking two of the hardest courses in law school history! Whoa!!! lmao.

My schedule would’ve gave first semester me the shakes. Now I feel like I can handle such a rigorous course load. Of course confidence in being able to adequately handle such a demanding course load comes with  experience.

Prior to my entry into law school, I never studied a day in my life. I didn’t know what studying was. I always say if I had my law school work ethic in high school and college, I would’ve had a 4.6 GPA. #NoCap

Entering school in 2017 gave me a super shock to my core. I knew it was material I couldn’t bs with unless I wanted to flunk out upon arrival.

Over time I learned and adjusted w/ new study strategies that helped me get better and better grades each term (after having a second semester slump).

Now being back on top in my studies I feel ready to take the new challenge of a rigorous course load. In other words, I can handle it now bro.

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IS THE GRADING SYSTEM OF LAW SCHOOL FLAWED

IS THE GRADING SYSTEM OF LAW SCHOOL FLAWED

 When it comes to law school, there are mainly two things people really care about: securing a job and getting the best grades possible. Grades have always been scrutinized as a measure of intelligence but in law school there’s no time for scrutiny because grades are made a huge focal point of a law school student’s career, which brings me to the following dilemma: Is The Grading System of Law School Flawed? 

 One of the problems grades create in law school is some people aren’t learning to learn the material their only concern is learning to get a good grade. Sure there may be many questions about the material during a lecture but guaranteed something about the exam is always brought up. “Is this on the exam”, “how would I write this on the exam”, “how much would this be worth on the exam”, etc. 

 It is understandable why students place heavy emphasis on the final exam because its basically the only grade you get from the class. Frankly it may be too much at stake. Students have been conditioned and hard wired to always have a contingency plan that can make up lacking percentages if they ever needed the extra boost from their professor but with law school final exams, that contingency plan is tossed out the window.

 A possible solution to this problem may be weekly assignments. Weekly assignments constantly keep students on their toes and make them visit the material routinely rather than stressed out hours and hours of studying because you don’t know exactly what to study for.

 Granted their is an advantage to having one big final exam with minimal assignments in between because it allows more focus to go into your studies and not worry about some quiz or piece of homework that won’t matter much.

 However if students actually grasping the practicality of the material is to become the norm instead of just learning for exam purposes then the discussion is to be had and it won’t be an easy one.

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