THE END OF A CHAPTER

The end of June 2017 brings the end of a chapter. The chapter that is university and the past four years I have spent studying an undergraduate LLB degree combined with the postgraduate Legal Practice Course.

When I decided to study law, I was 14 years old; I had sat down in my secondary school library and planned the next ten years of my life. So far, everything has fallen into place and I have followed my ten-year plan down to a T. However, now, with eight years of my plan completed, I must proceed with the next two years.

This is where things get tricky. Back in high school, 14 year old me decided I would become a solicitor. Part of me still wants to pursue this, and stick to the original plan however, the other part of me has stopped me from doing so. Never one to change plans, I have been struggling with these conflicting thoughts for the past year and I am slowly coming to terms with it.

I want to work in the legal sector but I also want to work in the writing sector. My passion is writing. Sure, a solicitor’s role can involve writing, depending on which sector you work in (e.g. as a Family Law solicitor, writing up the statement of issues for financial proceedings (during or after a divorce)). However, creativity can be limited and that is not something I am looking for.

When I started writing this blog, back in 2015, I did so to broaden my writing abilities and to be able to write creatively, something I felt I was lacking whilst studying the LLB. It was not until I began the LPC, halfway through my third year of the LLB, that I began to understand that there are so many more avenues for a law degree and to use the skills acquired, in a creative manner.

Studying the combined degree has been difficult but it has been eye-opening. The LLB teaches you the basics which, in a nutshell, is: find the appropriate law, apply it to the facts. The LPC, however, teaches you how to take those basics and apply it to a bigger picture.

As mentioned earlier, I studied the LPC during my third year of the LLB. Usually, the LPC is studied after the LLB, as a completely separate degree. Studying them together meant I found it very difficult from the get go. This was because half my week was spent studying LLB subjects, whilst the other half was spent studying LPC subjects, barely keeping my head above water, unable to understand exactly why, even though I was giving the right answers, they were not enough for me to gain higher than a 2:1. My brain was hard-wired into approaching LPC work with an LLB frame of mind.

It was not until I began my fourth year, and began studying Business Law and Property Law, when I learnt how to achieve those coveted 1st classifications. These were the modules which turned everything around for me. They taught me, to do well on the LPC, you need to go above and beyond than simply applying the law. You also need to have a commercial-mind, think about how your advice can help your ‘client’, not just for now, but in the long-term. This meant, the more creative I was with my application of the law (providing it was logical, of course!), the better the advice was and the higher my grades became.

Despite the LPC being a postgraduate degree aimed at those looking to pursue a role as a solicitor, I believe that it teaches you skills that can be used in other career fields. For example, the skill of drafting teaches you to how to look at the minute details, deduce which punctuation to use so it does not change the meaning of what you are drafting. This is a skill which can be used in the world of editing and publishing.

My plans for life after university have completely changed. For the first time in my life, I am without a plan. Does this scare me? YES. Will I let this hold me back? NO.

I may not be the “girl-with-a-ten-year-plan” anymore but that does not mean I am going to sit back and let my life play itself out. That is not the kind of person I am; I am pro-active. This is why I am constantly looking (and applying) for roles I think are best suited for me. Whilst applying for roles, I am going to take a much needed rest, from the hectic four years at university, and truly live in the moment, without having to worry about exams and looming deadlines.

I look forward to the next chapter of my life. I am ready for it.

 

Until next time,

Arifa S

Signing off.