The past year I’ve pretty much gone silent on my social media outlets. On the down low I was scheming a way to take my career to the next level. Honest Holly said I often come across as very negative and basically a douche bag on my blog and Facebook page so I wiped them clean and hit the off switch. (Diplomatically she also told me I look like I’m trying way too hard in my profile pictures. Delete those, too.) Word on the street is admissions counselors often search FB pages, blogs, twitter accounts and online photo sharing sites to get a better sense of their applicants. Any idiot can get a least one former employer, professor or a friend to write a sensationalized reference letter. The drunken Friday night when you decide to post a picture of your junk is probably a better character indicator.
I digress.
So, 20 years of advertising, art direction, graphic design, print services, and project management later, I decided it was time for something new. Not totally reinvent the wheel, just incorporate a breadth of experience and knowledge, wrap it up into a cohesive tin-foil wrapped package, and take it to a new (and hopefully more lucrative) level. The goal - incorporate the knowledge gained of 20 years in media, a journalism degree and some fairly interesting life experience. Just what could that be?
Wait for it.
Law school. Yes, law school and a mid-career transition into Media Law. Throw in some Entertainment Law for good measure and maybe even try my hand as an agent for some up-and-coming bike racers, triathletes or the next Social Distortion. Brilliant. Full-steam ahead.
Thanks to the recession, job shortages and a bunch of twenty-somethings not in a hurry to start paying back student loans, the applicant pool for law school is at an all-time high. At this point I began to wish I’d worked a little harder in college and spent a little less time hair farming and enjoying the sunshine and liquid lifestyle of the University of Arizona. Unfortunately, I’d soon learn, a 3.3 GPA is marginal at best to get into a top law school.
Regardless, I buckled down and studied my ass off for the law school admissions test (LSAT) – all while working full time, trying to be a good dad to an awesome new baby, a respectable husband and step-dad, still riding my bike and motorcycle, and spending some quality time with my tattoo artist. Needless (or needles) to say, I didn’t kill it on the LSAT. Just above the median score. Applications, references, personal statements in process, I kept my fingers crossed that my age, work history, life experience, and being a small business owner would trump a very average test score and GPA. Sealed with a kiss I fired off ten applications to top tier law schools.
The waiting game was slow and arduous. We’d been trying to sell our Utah house, suffering through one of the longest winters in Utah history and just living in limbo with hopes that next year would bring a new and exciting (and warm) locale for the family and a stimulating learning environment for the old man.
Cut to the chase.
Nine rejections and one wait list letter filtered through my mailbox last spring and into the summer. Apparently age and life experience don’t mean much and admissions truly boils down to a number generated by incorporating your LSAT score and undergraduate GPA.
Ironically, our Utah house sold just as school would have started. We decided SoCal lifestyle + Maui weather + Utah cost of living = Austin, Texas. Two weeks ago we packed up, poked it with a toothpick and called Utah good. Career-wise, for now, I’ll keep doing the same thing. Not the desired change in substance but the change of scenery definitely helps. In the next few months I’ll reevaluate, research Texas’ second tier law schools, and maybe throw out a couple more applications. Stay tuned. I plan on testing the new local beers and posting a couple weiner pics. (I have great PhotoShop skills).Welcome back.
