With regard to paying attention to what surrounds us, often in law school--what I find unnerving--is how out of touch law students can be with social spheres, constructed and natural spaces, and socio-economic disparities that even surround them every day here in Harlem and Morningside Heights. I think as we're jacked into distractions and self-created neuroticism, what we lose is an appreciation of the real world. People talk about the stress of law school, but the majority of our classmates have never experienced the stress of survival on a daily basis once in their lives. How do you compare the stress of being behind on your outline or your reading, with the stress of feeding five kids, being behind on your rent and facing homelessness, with three jobs? How do you justify a panic attack about getting a B in Crim Law, with a panic attack because your children are hungry and illiterate and there's nothing you can do about it, or your T-cell count will drop even lower because you can't afford to pay for your HIV medication anymore?

A person even a block away from the law school--which may be down the figurative and literal stairs to Harlem for you--face these stresses everyday. Perhaps it is worth considering this the next time you find yourself in a panic in our multi-million dollar library at 11am, as you sip your latte, while you learn for the sake of learning.

-- AjGarcia - 29 Mar 2012

We have the option of taking the route of Mr. Wiley—numbing our minds with substances to keep billable hours up and emotions down. Work is good. Money is good. Comfort and acceptance are paramount. However, we have the other option of learning what we really want to do by developing a purpose and redirecting our enthusiasm toward it for a life of genuine, long-term fulfillment.

John Brown’s purpose, to which he devoted every fiber of his being, was freeing slaves. He had truly made himself the instrument of this purpose, and this trait, to me, is tremendously admirable. It got me to wondering how I could find my own purpose. A purpose to which I could devote myself to whole-heartedly in an attempt to create a career that never had a moment of regret.

Brown stood in stark opposition to the people in power and privilege of his era. Those people had managed to turn a blind eye to the atrocities of slavery and understood it as something normal and acceptable. For this reason, these people weren’t the instrument of a purpose like Brown was. They were more complacent and happy in their comparatively sheltered existences.

As a person within a group that is undoubtedly extremely fortunate and privileged, I’m scared that I have been doing the same. Have I learned to turn away from the injustice that is right in front of me? Will I never find a similar purpose because I’ve neglected to witness and accept the fact that there is suffering everywhere?

The first step in fixing this is to listen to Thauraud and stop being so “dim.” According to her, lawyers spend their time thinking about little more than what puts money in their pockets, and I feel like we are being pushed onto the same track. If we learn to be more perceptive of the nature of our society and introspective regarding what we truly want, I think that it’s possible to find the catalyst that creates a Brown-like purpose and drives a lifetime of enthusiastic work.

But how do we start to brighten up the “dimness?” It may take some time away from schoolbooks and the law school campus, walking through the city and absorbing the sights and sounds. It may take some meditating upon what issues in the world you truly find bothersome, but you’ve simply neglected to address. I really don’t think that it requires that we all become entrepreneurs. Could the move to a more fulfilling career be the organic result of opening our eyes?

-- AustenBrandford - 29 Mar 2012