A String of Good Luck

*I feel like I should knock on wood after typing that title*

Life has been nothing short of crazy since returning from Spring Break. I had a similar experience last semester after Fall Break, but life was crazy then because I got into finals mode and had the stress associated with that. But the recent craziness has been a little more exciting (although it's delaying my ability to get into finals mode, which is stressful in itself.) 

I just realized I didn't write about Spring Break, so maybe I should start with that. Spring Break started for me Thursday night, March 1. That's when I started working on my Law Review write-on submission. Ditto for Friday, Saturday, Monday, and Tuesday of Spring Break. Early Wednesday my friend (who is also from West Valley) and I packed up and headed west. We got into Utah around 7pm. I spent the next three days relishing being around family. When I got into Utah, I realized I wouldn't see Ashley and Jessica and their families at all while I was home, which made me so sad. But it ended up being an incredible weekend, focused mainly on being with Jen and her kids.

On Thursday, March 8, I got to go to lunch with Jen and her youngest and then enjoyed shopping with them. I got myself new scriptures, which I've talked about doing for several years. That night I hung out at their house and played games and was able to see Jamie!

Friday I did lunch with Mom, movies with David, dinner with Jamie, and more games at Jen's house.

Saturday morning I woke up bright and early to see this little cutie play soccer:

I spent most of the rest of Saturday with my parents, and then it was time for stupid goodbyes:

I thought I should mention that I did see and spend time with my nephews, but they're not as willing to do squishy face pictures with me:

Early Sunday we left for Nebraska. We hit the road before the sun was even up:

In Cheyenne, I switched to the passenger seat and noticed the appropriateness of the change in weather in light of the change in mood as we entered Nebraska:

Upon returning to school, I got my Law Review submission turned in and tried rather unsuccessfully to get back into school mode. In addition to wishing for a longer Spring Break, I was distracted with the chance to help out some 2Ls with their trial team tryout by acting as a witness. It was a fun learning experience for me, and I'm glad I got to see how the tournament works before I'm doing it myself next year.

The greatest news I've received while in law school was at the beginning of last semester when Ashley called to tell me she was pregnant. A close second came in the form of a letter in my school mailbox from the Law Review board:

It is an amazing feeling to have a goal realized. I badly wanted to make Law Review, and I feel so lucky that I was accepted. My family has been excited for me, which makes the success even sweeter. Telling my dad the good news has to count as one of the best experiences of my life. I'd be lying if I said my goal of Law Review wasn't substantially developed by my dad's high regard of the people he went to school with that were on Law Review. It seems to always be a classification he uses. It has become a type of shorthand. If he went to law school with someone that he considers particularly sharp, all he needs to say is, "He was on Law Review," and I understand.

Now, I need to point out that Creighton Law Review is certainly not BYU Law Review. We all know that, and I'm not claiming that this accomplishment even compares to that. But the fact of the matter is that my dad has always seemed to have a large amount of respect for practicing attorneys that were once on Law Review. I think that helped me decide that I wanted to do it. I'm always aware that my parents are pleased with the direction of my life and celebrate my accomplishments along with me, and maybe I'm just imagining this, but when I called my dad to tell him I made Law Review, I heard a measure of pride and excitement that I don't know I've heard before. His enthusiasm matched my feelings perfectly, and it was simply a wonderful moment for me.

This week my friend, Jen, and I competed in the school's negotiations competition. We spent the week prior doing as much preparation as possible. We were driven by a good combination of our two personalities. Jen likes to win, and she's good at winning. I started learning about negotiations and realized a deep interest in the field and feel it is something I can be good at if I take the time to develop those skills. (I also wanted to win, and Jen also is good at negotiating, but I think we each held a slightly separate focus throughout the competition, and it worked for us.)

The first round was on Monday (we were team P):

On Wednesday night we were able to compete again in the final round. It was a hard night. Really hard. The team we went against was very good and pushed us. We left unsure what to think. Our four friends that made up the other two teams in the finals had faced off before us and seemed to feel the same way. Of the two rounds, no one knew how things would turn out.

The competition narrows it down to the top two teams, and those teams then make up Creighton's Negotiations Team that competes in the regional competition in the Fall:

We were SO excited with the news. As I mentioned, I feel like negotiations is a skill I really want to develop, and this opportunity will help me do that.

It feels great to be a student that DOES THINGS again. It's been a long time since I took risks and opened myself up for failure. (Of course, it makes it easier that the first risks I've taken in this law school chapter of my life ended up well for me, but still...)

I feel grateful for this string of good luck and now hope to focus this positive energy on finally preparing for finals!