Law Students Corner
| Publication year | 2010 |
| Pages | 15 |
Journey to My Juris Doctor
By Chadron Patton, University of Kansas School of Law
The final months of my law school career have arrived. It's easy to allow memories of the journey traveled to fade as the final destination comes into view. Arriving at a significant moment in life is reason to pause. Remembering the trials and hardships associated with an accomplishment makes the sacrifices seem worthwhile and brings to light the joy of finally reaching the end.
When I decided that I would apply to law school, it was not as a recent undergraduate. I had been out of college and working for six years when I began to explore the possibilities of returning to school. The financial responsibilities that my wife and I faced did not appear capable of withstanding a three-year period where expenses would greatly exceed any income. We had recently purchased our first home and were adjusting to paying a mortgage. We had also just welcomed our first child and a corresponding loss of income. These concerns, in addition to financing an expensive legal education, were daunting. I needed a law school that offered a strong academic environment but that would not send us spiraling into personal bankruptcy along the way.
Fortunately, we had one in our own backyard. The University of Kansas School of Law was only a half-hour drive from our home. The tuition was reasonable, and I had the prospect of receiving substantial financial aid. The law school possessed a respected reputation throughout the Kansas City legal market, and I was confident that if accepted, I would obtain an exceptional and substantial education. I submitted an application in February and received my acceptance a few weeks later in March. I completed the summer working as a full-time financial advisor, but began reducing my work schedule as the start of my first year approached. I felt primed and positive about my second turn at higher education.
Nonetheless, I was overwhelmed at the very beginning by the difficulties associated with returning to a structured academic environment. First day assignments were a foreign concept to me. Spending eight hours reading before I had even attended my first class left me feeling uneasy about what would greet me when classes officially started. When classes did begin, my colleagues all seemed to grasp seemingly complex legal concepts and appeared confident...
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