Why I studied law
Nathan recently asked me how I got to be interested in practising law. The truth is, I never was - which probably accounts for the fact that I'm not practising it now!
Whenever I tell people I have a law degree, they look at me like, "Then what on earth are you doing as a journalist???" It's a long story that bears telling.
I've always loved writing, used to have plenty of pen-friends when I was younger, and would write very - and I mean VERY! - looong letters.
When I was 16, I figured journalism would be the ideal career. I'd get to write, which I enjoy doing, and I wouldn't be cooped up in an office, stuck at a desk doing boring paperwork. It just seemed ideal.
Dad didn't like the idea, and did everything except say no. He'd wait for TV news footage that showed all the journalists and cameramen huddling under umbrellas in the pouring rain, and he'd call me to come and see: "Look! That's journalism for you! Still want to be a journalist?" He told me, "They'll send you to Africa, wake you up at 3am in the morning to cover a sudden fire! (Dad knows how much I love my beauty sleep) You'll be so stressed out by all the datelines, your eczema will act up and you'll develop snake skin!"
Really, the things parents come up with! *rolls eyes*
At 18 I went to college and did a one-year pre-university course. Then came the time to Decide My Future.
Mom came down to be with me and help out with uni registration. We went around visiting colleges, collecting brochures, speaking to career counsellors. I was dead set on doing Mass Communications, majoring in Journalism.
Problems started cropping up: The university I chose wouldn't recognise my pre-university certificate. Oh, I could still enter, but I'd not be given any exemptions or extra credits. Dad raged over the phone about wasting all his money (that one year of studies had cost him about $10,000, if I remember correctly. Perhaps even more). Mom cried because he yelled at her...
It was 1997; foreign exchange rates went sky-high, largely attributed to George Soros' meddling. We're talking about overseas university education; at that time, most colleges here offered programmes that allowed for about half the course to be done in Malaysia, and the other half at the overseas campus. Thus, when foreign exchange rates went up, projected costs went through the roof.
(In Asian culture, education is seen as the gateway to a better life; parents consider it their responsibility to provide for their kids' education. Kids are generally NOT ENCOURAGED to work their own way through college. They are supposed to pay attention to their studies and get a good degree!!!)
Anyone else would have taken the multiple calamities as a sign, but noooooo, Miss Stubborn here was determined to do what she wanted to do. Law was my second choice, but as I had no intention of settling for anything other than Mass Communications, second choice might as well have been no choice at all.
I registered in one of the colleges and paid a deposit to book a place in their student hostel. When we got home, Mom - being Mom - looked at me and asked, "Have you done your Quiet Time today?" I harumphed and marched upstairs. Sat on the bed and stared at my Bible.
That whole year since I left home, I'd been going to church and cell group faithfully, but hadn't been walking close to God at all. I had no idea where to start with Quiet Time, but since Mom insisted... I decided I'd read Isaiah chapters 40-50.
The next morning, after breakfast, I announced militantly, "I'm moving into the hostel today." Mom looked at me and asked, "Have you done your Quiet Time yet?" I sighed, rolled my eyes, and marched upstairs. Again.
I decided, instead of continuing on from where I'd stopped the previous day, I'd read backwards - I'd read Isaiah chapters 30-39. I flipped open my Bible. Guess what Isaiah 30:1-2a says?
- "Woe to the obstinate children," declares the LORD, "to those who carry out plans that are not Mine, forming an alliance, but not by My Spirit, heaping sin upon sin; who go down to Egypt without consulting Me..."
"OK, OK, Lord, I get the picture! Fine!" I muttered, knowing very well that I'd lose if I tried to fight Him. After all, isn't He supposed to know what's best? I'd be really stupid to insist on my own way then, wouldn't I??
And that's how I ended up taking an external degree in Law: I did it in obedience to God.
I don't regret it, either. Oh, the first few months I was miserable. I resented God for "forcing" me into the decision. What do you mean, I had a choice? God's best or second-best, does that sound like a choice to you??! And wait a minute, isn't God supposed to be on my side? Then what's He doing supporting them against me?!? I felt hard-done-by. Oppressed. Oh, the drama of youth! hehehee
But after I "came to my senses", I repented and then I found Law interesting. For the next three years, I walked around secure in the knowledge that I was where God wanted me to be, doing what God wanted me to do. During my first year, God rekindled the flame in my heart and gave me a hunger for Him greater than I'd ever known. I came to know Him more intimately during that year than I ever had before.
Later, I realised that in obeying God, I'd actually also submitted to my parents. God used that submission to turn around my (strained) relationship with Dad. Over the following three years, I saw Dad's attitude towards me change drastically. Part of it, I believe, was the fact that I didn't need to go overseas, causing less of a strain on the family finances, freeing Dad of the worry.
And in the end, God blessed me with results so beyond what I ever asked or imagined, I still consider them a miracle. It was like icing on the cake, the final nail cementing my restored relationship with Dad, who's always placed a lot of importance on good results. He came for my Graduation Ceremony, beaming from ear to ear, and I... I finally felt validated, that I'd finally managed to accomplish something of worth in his eyes.