이름 : C*** H***
LSAT 점수 : 168
학부성적 : 3.4
성별 : 여
Accepted: Duke University, College of William and Mary, Emory University, University of Richmond, University of South Carolina, University of Virginia, Wake Forest University
Personal statement
Torts vs. Tarts
It was three o’clock on a Saturday morning, and I had just finished typing a paragraph when it hit me: this was the end. I tinkered with the spacing of the lines, calculating the page count (and subsequent word count) from various angles, each time falling within the editorial guidelines for a single-title romance novel of 90,000-110,000 words.
I shrugged, yawned. Waited for the choir of angels to sing, but nothing. And so I just went to bed. Even today, a year and another novel later, I’m not sure I truly appreciate the achievement of finishing my first manuscript. However, I do understand the accomplishment of dedicating myself and working hard to achieve a lofty goal. Furthermore, I recognize how this accomplishment can translate into other areas of my life, including law school.
Not many people would draw a comparison between writing a romance novel and practicing law, but there are similarities, not the least of which is a collection of misconceptions held by those outside the profession. Just as most non-romance readers claim that all romance novels are the same – trashy and formulaic – many laymen proclaim lawyers as an ambulance-chasing hoard.
It doesn’t help that to the uninitiated writing a romance novel seems to be a simple task: take a guy and a girl, put them somewhere in time, give them a conflict, make them fall in love, rip them apart, reconcile them in the last four pages. But as a fellow writer once said, “Saying all romance plots are boilerplate is like saying there is only one land route from DC to San Francisco.” Crafting a believable story is as difficult as crafting a case – there must be a logical flow to the events, there must be motivation and consequence, and when all is said and done every loose end must be satisfactorily tied.
Add to this mixture an extremely knowledgeable and dedicated demographic of readers, and, as in law, writing a novel begins to entail a tremendous amount of research. Romance readers know their history, and are for the most part unforgiving of those writers who do not know theirs. Hence, research becomes vital if one does not want to horrifically embarrass oneself.
Perhaps the most obvious similarity between writing a romance novel and practicing law is the actual writing itself. While the words employed in a romance novel are vastly different from those used by lawyers (excluding divorce settlements, of course) if the stacks of files on my desk at work are any measure, the amount of writing in both endeavors is commensurate. Indeed, the first lesson I ever learned as both a writer and a paralegal is that paper fuels each profession.
Finally there is the passion. Not the kind of passion that most people associate with romance novels, but the passion of pursuit. Law School is demanding, and hard work and dedication is necessary. But true dedication, the kind that can keep you awake working until 3:00am Saturday morning, must have a root in passion – a desire to learn and push forward. I feel that this will be my greatest contribution to Duke Law School: a passion for knowledge that extends beyond the classroom walls to my family, to my community, and to life itself.
Back to that early morning when I finally typed “The End.” Was I proud? Undoubtedly so. Did I fully understand my accomplishment? Unfortunately no. It was never an option for me to NOT finish my first novel. Furthermore, the end was just another beginning. There were publishers and agents to query, not to mention over 400pages of editing and re-editing and re-re-editing. In that regard, finishing my first manuscript seemed to be just one step in the course of many. But I do know that in the process of achieving this goal I have learned lessons that will serve me well through law school and beyond: how to dedicate myself and work hard; how to write and persevere. And finally, how to enjoy the process.