Is this really logical to think? For most of us, we are going to get caught up chasing the almighty dollar. We are going to get out of here barely alive, exhausted, and broke with our huge law school debt and go sliding into the first high paying job that we can find in this competitive economy. We are going to get plush homes and shiny cars and struggle to make those payments because gosh darn it, we are lawyers! The very thing that hurt so bad and sent us to law school will become a thing of the past and we’ll get caught up in the daily legal grind. However, I do believe that even the smallest voice can change the world and some us will do great things. I intend to be one of those people who changes it all for at least some animals. I know I will never be able to save them alI but I also know that I must at least try. I will work diligently and vigorously for them because all my life they have kindly given me love, understanding, kindness, and compassion when I was all alone.
As a child, I was alone a lot. I, like so many others, am a product of a broken home. I sat on the floor of my room on a blue rug many nights with my dog Rosie and cried. She licked my tears away and cried with me. Before Rosie, we had a dog named Tinkie. I would sit with her in the back yard and play “school” with her. She would be my “student” and I would rattle on telling her all kinds of stories. She sat there as patiently as ever with a wistful look in her eyes and listened to me for hours. She must have known I needed a friend. Looking back now, I was so lucky to have both of those sweet souls. They loved me with the purest of hearts.
During my school years, I was teased and bullied a lot. I was a quiet little girl. I didn’t like to be away from my mom, so I was always on the verge of tears. The other kids would spit in my long hair that my mom had put ribbons in, they would kick me, they would call me mean things, and even put gum in my hair. I would come home exhausted from the miserable time at school and again sit with Rosie. From kindergarten to college, 13 years, she was my comfort, my love, my very best friend, and I miss her everyday.
Every time we were called to rescue a new dog and bring it home to live, I found a new comfort in that dog. Each and every time that my dogs were called to be little angel dogs, I would sob into their fur and it hurt. As much as it hurt me to let my loves go, I made sure that I was there with them and I let them know it was ok to go. After all, they each had enriched my life in magical ways and they deserved to fly high knowing that I would be ok.
After while, I began to look at other animals. My first realization was about cows. I looked into the eyes of a cow once and all I saw was another soul like me. I never once thought that this soul was beneath me or deserved less than me. I was mesmerized that another soul could be in such a different body than mine. Once, when I was about five or six years old, I was riding in the car and spotted some cows along the highway in a pasture. I immediately felt overcome with sorrow for them. I knew they were going to die to become food. I leaped out of my seat belt, rolled down the window, and screamed to them to stop eating. Somehow in my young little mind, I believed that if they were skinny they would not be sold and killed. Ultimately, my parents weren’t thrilled about my standing in a moving car, out of my seat belt, advocating for cows.That was the first time I ever spoke out for animals. I sat down and got buckled in again but I knew the truth. From that day on, I hurt for the cows, the pigs, the chickens, and all the animals who suffer needlessly. (Google factory farming for more information). I knew that I had to do something for my dear friends; I just didn’t know what yet…
So here I am, years and years later, struggling through law school so that I can be their voice, the voice for the voiceless. Currently, I have four dogs and their love and kindness carries me through everyday. Recently, I have been dealing with a particularly difficult family problem that will trouble me, undoubtedly, for the rest of my life. Like precious angels, they are there with me while I struggle. They sit with me while I cry and lick away my tears. They listen to me practice for presentations and sit with me while I stressfully study legal things. They greet me when I get back from school with the happiest faces. Their love has carried me through life and law school thus far. How could I ever do anything else but fight for justice for all animals when they have been there for me all my life?
XOXO
Stay Fabulous,
LawGirl.