Beastmomma

Over the weekend, I went to MD to attend a conference and job fair for public interest lawyers.  A few of my former classmates were also in attendance and I have not seen them since I left Seattle.  In the course of catching up, I found myself stumbling when trying to respond to the question of what I have been up to and how I was adjusting to life in the Boston area.

The short answer to both of those questions is that I love being with Partner and I am adjusting to my new surroundings.

In the course of explaining my internships to a few people, I said that part of the reason these opportunities were so important to me is that I need to feel like Boston is my home too.  As much as I love Partner and I want to be with him, I need to have my own connection to a place.  Even though I am having trouble with some aspects of one of the internships, getting on the commuter rail to go to work and being able to navigate Boston on my own (even if it just to a few places) makes me feel empowered. 

Upon further reflection, the other thing I realized is that I have had a chance to have a fresh start in the legal field.   When I came to Seattle, I had so much doubt about whether I had made the right decision to leave Durham.  The doubt followed me throughout my time there and made it hard to combat all the other factors which were working to tear up my self-esteem.   When I arrived in the Boston area, I knew that I wanted to be with Partner.  I also know that we are going to be here for at least a few years.  Even though job searching and school is tough, I feel much calmer about the process.   I got a lot of compliments on my resume and my ability to be a successful attorney.  Maybe there is a link between self-confidence and the ability to be a good lawyer.