This LSAT Diary is from Kira, who's studying for the September 2014 LSAT. Below, she shares her LSAT self-studying experience.
If you want to be in LSAT Diaries, please email me at LSATUnplugged@gmail.com. (You can be in LSAT Diaries whether you've taken the exam already or not.)
Please thank Kira for sharing her story below in the comments!
Kira's LSAT Diary:
Hello All, hailing from the “Concrete Jungle..where dreams are made of…” I am Kira. A married, mother of three, my oldest being in one of NYC’s gifted and talented programs (a proud mother always has to plug their child’s accomplishments.) I am a 33 year old college graduate (11 years out to be exact) and I work full-time as a Teacher for the NYC department of education.
I have been teaching for 7 years, and have taught on the elementary and middle school level. I
have to admit that Teaching was not my passion. I entered into it out of necessity, as I graduated
college walked into one of the worse job markets ever! I initially worked as a paralegal at a law
firm, next a receptionist turn assistant at one of the top investment firms in NYC. I worked in
that realm for three years, mostly for the money. You see a little more than a year to the day I
graduated college, I gave birth to my first child.
My goal from childhood has always been to enter the field of law. I knew early on that I wanted
to specialize in public interest and international law and moonlight in entertainment law. I
also knew that I wanted to work a few years after college before entering law school. I wanted
to have a solid foundation in my career as a way to take experience with me to law school.
Some may ask, why I didn’t enter law school after not finding my ideal job. Easy, because
everyone else had that exact same backup plan. I didn’t want to pursue law school in a panic or
impulsively. I still wanted to stick to the plan of establishing my career.
Fast forward to 2006, I decided that I did not want to stay in corporate America. I wanted a more
liberal atmosphere, I also wanted to spend more time with my daughter. The hours I worked,
although great on the paycheck, was hard. She spent more time with my husband, mother and
daycare than with me. I didn’t want that for her. My mother, a career Teacher (by choice),
encouraged me to look into teaching. I knew that I would have to obtain a Master’s Degree in
education since, my undergraduate was in communications. I applied to grad school, and began
to sub-teach in NYC schools. In January 2008 I began teaching full-time, first as a middle school
teacher, hired halfway through the year to replace another teacher, then as an elementary school
that September.
Time sped by quick, and I am now in my 7th year. I sincerely enjoyed teaching, (in the
beginning), I had a lot of fun with my students, and actually I still do. I make learning relatable
to their lives and interests, not to mention make a fool of myself to emphasize a skill or topic.
However, deep inside of me, I still had a void. I knew what it was, although I would frequently
dismiss the feeling and try to make myself become complacent. My mind and heart worked
together to frequently remind me, “Sooooooo, when are we going to law school?” I would have
these moments where I would feel a finger tap me on my shoulder (stay with me, I’m not crazy).
It was my conscious, reminding me that I still have goals to fulfill. These moments happened on
good and bad days, more so good days. Particularly when I accomplished a major goal with my
students, or was recognized in a school based project or activity. I would drive home lost in my
thoughts thinking, “Wow, I got it done, the past few nights of no sleep and worrying paid off. Now why do I not feel complete?”
It wouldn’t be until Christmas 2013 that I finally decided to do something about this feeling. I
purchased two LSAT books over that break and began reading and attempting questions. Each
day for the next eight days, I would devote 2 hours towards understanding the material in each
section. From there, I began bringing the study guides to work and setting aside time on the
weekends to review. However, it wouldn’t be until a mid-winter break in February that I had
the heart to have the conversation with my husband. I was nervous, talking to him about going
back to school, Law school, the expense, the time, the option of quitting my sensible paying
job with benefits to take a HUGE risk. My husband is an Engineer at a company that builds
railcars. Financially, we manage in expensive NYC with three children, the 2nd of fraternal twin boys, now two years old.
One week in February, my husband outright asked me if I was happy. I was shocked he asked,
but quickly replied, “NO”. He took a deep breath and said, “Tell me what is bothering you?”
That is how the conversation began. By the end of that initial conversation, I had his blessing and
support for law school, although I know he is worried about how I will manage to finance law
school, (so am I). The first goal is getting a solid LSAT Score.
As I mentioned, I bought several books, the first being “10 more LSAT, Official LSAT Tests”
by LSAC and Barron’s LSAT test prep book (now garbage) and I took a free LSAT prep test at
Princeton Review in April. I knew what my strengths and weaknesses going into the practice
test, my timing with answering some of the difficult logic games, rereading instead of scanning
during the extended reading response section and second guessing myself during the logical
reasoning section. I was spot on when I received my score. I initially was going to enroll in
Princeton Review or Powerscore LSAT prep classes, but decided I need individualized support which
would be well worth the investment for my ideal score.
As I continue to study, increasing my hours to 3-4 hours on the weekend, I am in the process
of consulting and setting up 1-to-1 tutoring sessions. As I move through this process, I am excited and ready for all the challenges and levels of growth that I know I will experience.
Sidebar, I just finished watch “Diddy’s” speech at my alma mater. Watching the sea of blue
cap and gowns took me back to my graduation day, it took me back to the long nights working
on papers, or reading several chapters. It reminded me of my very first day on campus. The
dreams I had for myself, the goals I wanted to accomplish, the affect I wanted to have on the
world. I now know my path in life was supposed to be this way. Now I am ready for the next
echelon….back to studying.
Photo by bobaubuchon
If you want to be in LSAT Diaries, please email me at LSATUnplugged@gmail.com. (You can be in LSAT Diaries whether you've taken the exam already or not.)
Kira's LSAT Diary:
Hello All, hailing from the “Concrete Jungle..where dreams are made of…” I am Kira. A married, mother of three, my oldest being in one of NYC’s gifted and talented programs (a proud mother always has to plug their child’s accomplishments.) I am a 33 year old college graduate (11 years out to be exact) and I work full-time as a Teacher for the NYC department of education.
I have been teaching for 7 years, and have taught on the elementary and middle school level. I
have to admit that Teaching was not my passion. I entered into it out of necessity, as I graduated
college walked into one of the worse job markets ever! I initially worked as a paralegal at a law
firm, next a receptionist turn assistant at one of the top investment firms in NYC. I worked in
that realm for three years, mostly for the money. You see a little more than a year to the day I
graduated college, I gave birth to my first child.
My goal from childhood has always been to enter the field of law. I knew early on that I wanted
to specialize in public interest and international law and moonlight in entertainment law. I
also knew that I wanted to work a few years after college before entering law school. I wanted
to have a solid foundation in my career as a way to take experience with me to law school.
Some may ask, why I didn’t enter law school after not finding my ideal job. Easy, because
everyone else had that exact same backup plan. I didn’t want to pursue law school in a panic or
impulsively. I still wanted to stick to the plan of establishing my career.
Fast forward to 2006, I decided that I did not want to stay in corporate America. I wanted a more
liberal atmosphere, I also wanted to spend more time with my daughter. The hours I worked,
although great on the paycheck, was hard. She spent more time with my husband, mother and
daycare than with me. I didn’t want that for her. My mother, a career Teacher (by choice),
encouraged me to look into teaching. I knew that I would have to obtain a Master’s Degree in
education since, my undergraduate was in communications. I applied to grad school, and began
to sub-teach in NYC schools. In January 2008 I began teaching full-time, first as a middle school
teacher, hired halfway through the year to replace another teacher, then as an elementary school
that September.
Time sped by quick, and I am now in my 7th year. I sincerely enjoyed teaching, (in the
beginning), I had a lot of fun with my students, and actually I still do. I make learning relatable
to their lives and interests, not to mention make a fool of myself to emphasize a skill or topic.
However, deep inside of me, I still had a void. I knew what it was, although I would frequently
dismiss the feeling and try to make myself become complacent. My mind and heart worked
together to frequently remind me, “Sooooooo, when are we going to law school?” I would have
these moments where I would feel a finger tap me on my shoulder (stay with me, I’m not crazy).
It was my conscious, reminding me that I still have goals to fulfill. These moments happened on
good and bad days, more so good days. Particularly when I accomplished a major goal with my
students, or was recognized in a school based project or activity. I would drive home lost in my
thoughts thinking, “Wow, I got it done, the past few nights of no sleep and worrying paid off. Now why do I not feel complete?”
It wouldn’t be until Christmas 2013 that I finally decided to do something about this feeling. I
purchased two LSAT books over that break and began reading and attempting questions. Each
day for the next eight days, I would devote 2 hours towards understanding the material in each
section. From there, I began bringing the study guides to work and setting aside time on the
weekends to review. However, it wouldn’t be until a mid-winter break in February that I had
the heart to have the conversation with my husband. I was nervous, talking to him about going
back to school, Law school, the expense, the time, the option of quitting my sensible paying
job with benefits to take a HUGE risk. My husband is an Engineer at a company that builds
railcars. Financially, we manage in expensive NYC with three children, the 2nd of fraternal twin boys, now two years old.
One week in February, my husband outright asked me if I was happy. I was shocked he asked,
but quickly replied, “NO”. He took a deep breath and said, “Tell me what is bothering you?”
That is how the conversation began. By the end of that initial conversation, I had his blessing and
support for law school, although I know he is worried about how I will manage to finance law
school, (so am I). The first goal is getting a solid LSAT Score.
As I mentioned, I bought several books, the first being “10 more LSAT, Official LSAT Tests”
by LSAC and Barron’s LSAT test prep book (now garbage) and I took a free LSAT prep test at
Princeton Review in April. I knew what my strengths and weaknesses going into the practice
test, my timing with answering some of the difficult logic games, rereading instead of scanning
during the extended reading response section and second guessing myself during the logical
reasoning section. I was spot on when I received my score. I initially was going to enroll in
Princeton Review or Powerscore LSAT prep classes, but decided I need individualized support which
would be well worth the investment for my ideal score.
As I continue to study, increasing my hours to 3-4 hours on the weekend, I am in the process
of consulting and setting up 1-to-1 tutoring sessions. As I move through this process, I am excited and ready for all the challenges and levels of growth that I know I will experience.
Sidebar, I just finished watch “Diddy’s” speech at my alma mater. Watching the sea of blue
cap and gowns took me back to my graduation day, it took me back to the long nights working
on papers, or reading several chapters. It reminded me of my very first day on campus. The
dreams I had for myself, the goals I wanted to accomplish, the affect I wanted to have on the
world. I now know my path in life was supposed to be this way. Now I am ready for the next
echelon….back to studying.
Photo by bobaubuchon
Really nice & inspiring story, thanks for sharing!! :)
ReplyDeleteAll the best Howard alum... you will do well!
ReplyDelete