Aged 17 I wandered into a mock Crown Court trial for the first time not knowing what to expect. Aged 21 I came out of university with a law degree. I had worked hard for 5 years to gain the qualifications I needed. All seems pretty on track right? There's a few things I've wanted to get off of my chest from reasons why it isn't for me, to answering people's questions about what I'm planning to do with my future.

Why did I fall out of love with law?

It happened in the second semester of my degree. I'd already received pretty average results in my first year with some 2:1s and 2:2s. I had just completed an oral exam and received a good 2:1. So why was I not happy? I was not happy with how the course was going. I had to do a mock client interview and I had never been so nervous. I completed it and it went well in my opinion, only to receive some negative points (and feedback that wasn't even allowed i.e. gave my partner a 0 when the scale was 1-5) and it all felt ridiculous. I loved certain modules but there were more I disliked overall.  The rest of the second year felt like a chore and I had to decide what route to take for the remainder of the course. Did I choose the traditional bachelors (LLB) route? Or did I do what I intended to do and continue the masters course (MLaw) with the qualification to be a solicitor (LPC)? Or, do something I never had thought of and train on the bar course to be a barrister? To be a solicitor or barrister you had to complete four years and complete the masters on the course too. Did I want to do that? Nope.

How did the course influence your decisions?

Of course I picked to do the LLB route which meant saying a little goodbye to some of my friends I had made since I wouldn't be seeing them in lectures or seminars anymore. I became close to a fair few people in my second year and whilst I wanted to still see them in uni, it wasn't possible. Before my third year of uni I had never been to a lecture alone and the prospect terrified me. On the first day of my third year I sat down alone not knowing what to think. I did have some relief knowing that I didn't have to sit down with actual real clients for pro bono work or stand up in the mock court we had on the third floor and moot. I was happy that I had 9 months of studying left before I could say goodbye to it. Having to apply for graduate jobs was confusing since I decided to not make any use of my degree and follow what in my heart, I thought was right. I had been blogging since the turning point in my degree the year before and as the year continued I knew blogging and pr/marketing was something I had wanted to pursue a career in.

What's happening now?

I graduated uni and it felt like a huge weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. I stayed up in Newcastle for a few months seeing friends and then went on holiday in the August. My boyfriend and I moved into my family home in Liverpool which was odd at first but now seems completely natural. I had a temporary job at Boots which I loved and now I'm on the hunt for that perfect job in the media. I volunteer as a social media assistant for a business owned by two of my aunties and I also work right here on this little blog. People have asked me why I'm not just in a random job to get some money saved up but they don't seem to realise that blogging is actually my part time job. I'm working hard on it right now with some exciting collaborations and if the opportunity arose to go full time with it then I would. The thing that bugs me the most is when people ask but there's so much money to earn if you're a solicitor, why don't you just do it for the money? The answer to that is simply because money is not worth my happiness. And I stand by that. I would much rather be in my family home with Andy and work super hard on my blog and be happy. Yes money comes in handy for holidays and new clothes but it really isn't worth being in a job I hate just to have things that I'll barely even get a chance to wear.

All in all, please never ask me why I'm not pursuing a career in law. I don't sit on a pile of money which can allow me to blog whilst I'm in my pjs but that doesn't mean I don't take blogging seriously. When people say "but can you be my solicitor in the future in case I need you?" - NO. I'm not qualified and I personally don't think having a legal representative who is quite close to you is wise anyway. Who knows where my little life will take me. I don't feel like I've 'wasted' my degree as it has taught me some valuable life skills, such as what to do when I buy a faulty product, what to check when I'm buying my first house and what to include in my will in the future. It is a little bit of a ranty post I'll admit, but it is annoying.

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