In which our hero muses about luck, eagles, blessings, and law school.

What is luck?

Is it some sort of divine construct, or a divine vassal of that fairest mistress of all: chance?

Or do we make our own?

I went up to South Texas College of Law earlier this week. It was my first time visiting the school in over a year, and I got a more complete tour this time, and I was amazed at how much stuff can fit into a building. Classrooms, seminars, and a huge library that has areas to study for every type of student. I saw the cloister-like windowless rooms popular at UT-B, as well as more open areas kissed by appropriate amounts of sunlight. My favorite part? The little park right outside the sixth floor. It's a big balcony with trees and tables, with a view to the downtown Houston skyline.

Oh man, I can't wait.

But I started out talking about luck, so here's where it starts to come in. My tour guide (who probably had better things to do at the admissions office) told me that the Spring 2011 entering class had ninety students, which is four times less than the Fall 2010 entering class.

Ninety students.

When I chose to reapply to South Texas College of Law, I applied with a little hesitation. Law schools that take Spring admission are few and far between, and of the five or six that do take Spring Admission, only two were realistic possibilities for me: Baylor and South Texas.

But I got in. I was one of 90 students that got into a competitive law school in a competitive semester.

Luck? Nah. I deserved AND earned that spot.

When I finished with the things I had to do with the financial aid office, I headed back downstairs to the lobby, where there's an entire wall with framed pictures of the faculty, their universities, and a little quote that they like.

One of them had the following quote:

Though youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
those who hope in the LORD
shall renew their strength.
They shall mount upon wings like eagles;
they shall run and not grow weary,
they shall walk and not be faint.

Isaiah 40:30-31

It just so happens that that quote is one of my favorite quotes from the Bible (granted, the version I like better says 'they shall soar upon wings like eagles' but the meaning is the same). Another interesting thing about this quote is that the morning that I received my LSAT scores, I had updated my facebook status to read: "He raised me up, on eagle's wings."
Because He did. He's raised me up, and raised my family up. I am very thankful for this.

One of the comments from my friends read simply: Isaiah 40:31, and ever since that moment, part of the passage has rested neatly and openly on my facebook profile.

Lucky coincidence?

I believe I am blessed. Some call these blessings luck, and some would call this luck a blessing.

In cases like this, I consider myself blessed to be lucky AND lucky to be blessed.

I've faced a lot of disappointments this year, but everything happens for a reason. My living arrangements, for example. I was lucky that my friend Leo had cousins attending South Texas College of Law, I was luckier still that they were able to find a 'roommate wanted' flyer on campus, and I was even luckier that said person needed a roommate for that precise semester.

And lucky me, he's a pretty cool guy, too, and a semester ahead of me in the same law school.

I have a lot to be thankful for, and I vow that my thanksgiving to all those who supported me will be expressed through my own success in law school and beyond.

I know my blog posts are sometimes lofty and laced with optimism that doesn't seem to mesh well with the fierce nature of what law school IS as compared to what I think it is...but, I don't care.

I know I'm going to suffer.

I know there'll be times I'll feel like giving up.

I know that it won't be very peachy when the stress piles up, especially with a smaller, more competitive class.

I know that I will be far from home and to an extent withdrawn from friends and family.

But I welcome that. I welcome it with open arms because I know how close I was to rotting in mediocrity. I stared at the abyss long enough to realize that no matter how much a final or a particular class may affect me, it's nothing compared to the nightmares I would have faced if I hadn't gotten into law school. I know that it'll all be worth it when I start working.