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Arellano Law Gazette

Crossing BordersSomewhere In Limbo by Michelle Reyes

There are certain things in life we have opted to do, not because we really want it but because there is a great need for it.

In my lifetime, all I really thought doing best was to write. At an early age, I have been open to the elements of the magical world of literature and have converted those imaginations into words. All of a sudden. I realized that I was taking up Journalism as a degree in one of the reputable Dominican universities in Manila. There I was, reaching for a dream that since childhood has haunted me. After graduating, I was deadset to establish a career as a professional writer. Until they made me realize that my dream is nothing but a mere dream.

Yes. I have decided to pursue another field totally distinct from the fictional world I have been accustomed with. Not because I really want to, but because I have to. I have followed not the wishes of my heart, but of others - who seemingly knew the best things in life.

It has been a struggling journey for me, It was a battle between the mind and the heart, just as difficult as choosing whom to love. My mind tells me that this is the practical thing to do yet my heart contends that this is not my passion. Yet, I have made a crucial decision. Not because I want to. but I have to.

Having a college degree as a machinery to face the ever-demanding society seems to be insufficient especially with the alarming nationwide unemployment rate of 8.1 % since January as reported by the National Statistics Office (NSO).

A lot of graduates - even coming from the most expensive and highly respected universities - splurge into business process outsourcing (BPO) companies like call centers to earn a decent amount of money in order to survive Some may even end up pursuing a career totally different from the degree they have scecialized in.

However, pursuing yet another degree -- as a fallback -- to ebe equally competitive in the labor force is a matter of choice.

For one, law school gives no assurance that everything will turn out perfectly right, that everything would just be as easy as pickinp up apples after a stormy day uprooted a tree.

Hard work coupled with prayers have always been the constant companion of a law students. One could also count those endless nights of whining about grades and tons of cases as well as recurring dread of a day full of recitations.

But with all these years spent in law school. I knew that despite sacrificing passion - least to say, a dream - I will gain something more.

Let me quote lawyer Presidia V. Rueda-Acosta on one of her speeches, she said:

"Practice of law is not a money-making venture (Canlas vs. CA, 164 SCRA 160). It is not a business which wealth is the primordial aim of the lawyer. It is a profession in which the pecuniary rewards are considered incidental (Atty. Leon L. Asa, "The Lawyer's Noble Mission," The Lawyers Review January 31, 1999, p. 8).

Maybe, those who made me realize that they knew 'the best things in life failed to show the significance of studying law. For in the outset, what greatly matters is the material gains it might give.

I think that even if most of us are trapped in an uncertain situation, what deems to be important is that we have proven them that we are willing to surrender to their pleas -just as an offender willfully submitting himself to authorities - no matter how seemingly hard the battle with the mind and heart is.

We are to prove them that despite the internal conflict arising from practicality and passion, we opted to give in to their demands - out of outmost love and respect.

That though the compelling force might be that of financial rewards, something nobler is most likely to be achieved in the end. Something communal instead of personal Something that could - in more than little ways - help uplift the worsening political situation in the country.

As I carefully rush to the end of all these, it made me realize that entering law school is not a bad idea after all. In the world I have previously been used to, my task is to educate and inform. I think I still have the same responsibility lying on my back.

Getting into law school might have partially separated me from the seemingly 'non-lucrative career' I have always wanted to do. But my heart always finds its way back to where it really belongs and is now madly beating in a fast-paced mode as it finds a new resting place.

Here in law school. Still converting imaginations into words as I impart a piece of me.