Life gave Lauren and me that message loud and clear over the past few months. When we packed up the U-Haul just over two years ago, we knew this D.C. thing was just a temporary diversion. “We’ll spend a couple of years there why Chris goes through school,” we told ourselves, “and in May 2012, back to Kansas City to pick up where we left off.” We had our plan. Life had a different one.
Life’s plan first put Lauren in a school in Arlington, Virginia. A school where the majority of the students live below the poverty line and speak English as a second language. But a school nonetheless where each student (although having to deal with issues every day that would give them every excuse to give up) show up each morning eager to learn, trying their hardest so that they may obtain the education that their parents have sacrificed so much to give them a shot at. And she is killing it! Although some of Lauren’s students are still learning English, and although each year they have to compete against the affluent neighborhoods on their standardized tests, her class scored the highest in the district on their test this past year. Lauren was recognized by being named a lead teacher at her school, a position through which she will share with other teachers ideas and strategies she uses to keep the students engaged and performing well. She is also serving as a mentor to a new teacher in the school, and is finding a true passion in being able to interact with other teachers and help them through their first years and other tough situations. This is definitely keeping Lauren busy (not to mention that when she finally does get to come home she has several hours of homework for her master’s degree each night) but she is truly happy and knows she is making a difference in the students’ and teachers’ lives.
And then life led me to an intellectual property law firm in D.C. where I feel at home and where I enjoy the work I am doing. The firm took a chance on me, granting me a clerkship the summer after my first year of law school. I walked in the first day knowing literally nothing about patent law (the first year of law school is only general classes), and was thus a long way from being able to contribute any useful work for them. But all the lawyers at the firm were willing to answer any questions I had along the way (with a smile), and although they were probably tired of dealing with me all day long, they still acted excited to grab a beer at quitting time. I eventually started to figure the work out, and the firm invited me back for a second clerkship this past summer. Every day of the summer I was excited to head to the office because I was working on stimulating projects for great clients with a group of people I enjoy being around. The experience has been wonderful.
And so now, as I enter my last year of law school, we should be putting our plan into motion. We should be looking for a place to live in Kansas City, freshening up our resumes, and preparing for the big move back. But there is something about life’s plan that we just can’t ignore. For some reason we are having a hard time leaving all this behind—we feel there is still a chapter of our lives yet to be written in D.C. And so, after one of the toughest decisions we have ever made, Lauren and I have decided to stay a little longer in our nation’s capital. I have accepted a full time position with the law firm and will begin next fall. And Lauren will continue to change lives at her school as a teacher, mentor, and an instructor. Kansas City will always be home, and we still see ourselves there someday. But for now we know this is where we need to be. Here’s to you life—I hope you know what you are doing!
Lauren and me at a Halloween party a few months after we moved to D.C. We sure have come along way from feeling like tourists every day!
