I had been thinking about going to law school for awhile. Initially, it was for practical reasons - leaving school was scary, and law seemed a practical solution. However, it was several trips to New Orleans that really gave me a personal reason to study law. It was impossible not to feel as though the difference that volunteers were making there was meaningless; after two years parts of the city where people needed help most desperately looked no more recovered than they did soon after the storm. I realized that to make a difference in situations like New Orleans it would take more. It would take making a difference at a higher level. By providing adequate legal representation to people who need it, law is a route by which that can be achieved.