divine angst

E. Spat’s recent perspective shift gave me some . . . um, perspective.

Today, as I stood in line to pay for my $1 pasta salad (easily the best bargain at the law school cafe), I ran into my legal writing prof. Who, by the way, I think is great. Really, really great. Anyway, last semester, she and I had talked about some research she’s doing and how she would probably need a research assistant for the summer. When she told me about her research, it just sounded really interesting–right up my alley, even. She told me if I was interested in working for her, to let her know.

So today, she asked how my job search was going. And I talked about some of the frustration and feeling like I was caught up in what everyone else was doing–my friends are all walking around in suits, comparing notes on their interviews, and I’ve been feeling like I’m . . . off-track, or out of the loop, or just doing something wrong in waiting to start looking for a job. She nodded in understanding and reminded me that I have a standing offer to work with her. She mentioned a presentation she’d done on the project and her face lit up. I remembered why the offer seemed so appealing when we first talked about it last year. The chance to work for someone who is excited about what she’s doing is priceless.

I feel better about things now. I know the law firm thing may not pan out, and I’m OK with that. Sure, it would be nice to make some cash this summer. But it would also be nice to spend a summer researching–and researching something I’m actually interested in. My research skills are the thing I need to exercise the most, too, and this would be an excellent chance to do that.

So, a perspective shift. It’s contagious!