Last month, I graduated from Stetson University College of Law!

When I first contemplated going to law school, I was terrified. My twenties had not gone the way I expected, for better or worse. I knew what it was like to soar higher than I ever thought possible. I also knew what it felt like to fall from those heights. The feeling is—forgive the pun—impactful.

Jaded and weary, I viewed law school more as a high-stakes gamble than a strategic investment. Surely, I had already used up my “take a shot at a dream career” on my time as a high fashion model. Surely, going to law school was for Other People. (Lawyers all lived in mansions and ran marathons and effortlessly oozed authority, right?)

If I knew then what I do now, I would know that:

• I would graduate with honors
• I would have an incredible job lined up
• I would write onto Stetson Law Review (SLR)
• I would make Dispute Resolution Board
• I would be voted Best New Associate of SLR
• I would win the Magnolia Cup negotiation tournament
• I would be voted Best Associate of SLR
• I would become a Notes & Comments Editor of SLR
• I would be selected as the SLR Scholarship Luncheon speaker
• I would be selected to be published in SLR

But I am glad I did not know. These blessings were extra pronounced because I went into law school thinking, “My only wish is to pass my classes and get my degree.” From where I stand now, that seems like a lackluster goal. From where I stand now, it sounds falsely modest. From from where I stood THEN, it seemed like a huge dream. It required every ounce of courage and grit I had to pick up my proverbial mat (and some really heavy casebooks) and walk through that door.

If anyone out there reading this is at a career/identity low, here is my humble advice:

• Invest in yourself.
• Give yourself one more chance.
• Knock and it shall be opened. (It might already be open… have you reached for the doorknob?)

I am so grateful to God for this journey. (I know this is LinkedIn, a professional network, but I feel that leaving out that element would be a material omission.) I am grateful that, regardless of how low my faith in myself tumbled, my faith in Him kept me going.

I am beyond grateful for the past three years—and all of the years, jobs, people, decisions, failures, victories, and moments that led me to Stetson—and I cannot wait to see what the future holds!