Yesterday, NOT ONLY did the Bears play a FANTASTIC game, did "Glee" win big at the Golden Globes, but I became the youngest Juris Doctor in the John Marshall Law School class of January, 2011!!
My Grandmother, before being taken by the Nazis, studied Law, but was never able to earn her degree, in the Cosmopolitan city of Warsaw. My law degree, earned six months earlier than others my age, is dedicated to her.
Ever since I was little, my parents left it up to me to succeed in school. Stressing the importance of academic achievement, without making my responsibilities as a student their own. They harvested in me the ability to be self-reliant and independent. As close as we are, I am still able to form my own educated opinions, and think independently and critically concerning my professional as well my personal life. I leared about success and failure on my own (although I must admit, I am incredibly lucky to be able to retain information as I hear it- that helped a lot too), and quickly saw the rewards of doing well.
So the people I have to thank for my degree are my amazing, supportive, loving and nurturing parents. Sending me a private Jewish school from an early age, which instilled the core values of "Derech Eretz" in me;* seeing me through every single performance and event in high school; providing an invaluable college experience; allowing me to explore the world from Israel, to dozens of European countries, to South Africa- enabling me to understand that the world is so much larger than how I saw it; and most recently, giving me a law degree, without asking for anything in return. There is no higher or more gracious form of giving than by enabling someone to become self-reliant. They have done that throughout my whole life, and soon I will begin working as an attorney, hopefully producing my own success in order to one day give to my children what my parents have given to me. I am nothing but humbled by all of this, and can not express my gratitude enough. I would not be here without them (literally and figuratively I guess...). (Gross).
But on a way more fun note speaking about my future... Last night my whole family had the most exciting culinary experience I could imagine. A specially prepared champagne dinner was a symphony of flavors. Unfortunately those flavors were dulled for me when my brother offered me $100 if I drank an entire bottle of Tobasco sauce. I told him he was crazy, and proceeded to drink the entire bottle. I earned $100 but lost sensation on my tongue for a while, preventing me from enjoying my first course properly. Either way, it was hilarious and money well spent- As I walked home from dinner I passed by an astrology boutique and decided to give her a ring. I had always been curious, and I thought it would be funny. So I made an appointment and found out some interesting things, the pertinent one being that she saw success in my future. So here we are, full circle! She might see success, but I wouldn't have it without my ma' and pa'. So I love you, and thank you!
*“Derech eretz is, in its broadest sense, acting with consideration and kindness to one’s fellow human beings, and in so doing, fulfilling the will of God. In Jewish religious terms, everyday life presents us with constant struggles to act in the correct way -- we are constantly battling between good and evil. It is a never-ending ethical drama in which the individual should always be striving to serve God in the best way possible. It means being able to transcend the mere formulaic response, yet, in turn, also being able to endure the anguish that true freedom of choice often encompasses.” –Excerpts from Small Acts of Kindness
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