The lotus flower is a beautiful flower that can be found all over the world. But the start of this flowers life is not as beautiful is one might image. It’s unlike many other flowers. When the lotus first begins to sprout, it is under water, making its home in lakes and ponds in areas where the water remains fairly still on the surface. But underneath the surface, the lotus is surrounded by mud and muck and by fish, by insects, and simply dirty, rough conditions
It is then that the lotus slowly opens each beautiful petal to the sun, basking in the worldly beauty surrounding it. The lotus flower is ready to take on the world. Despite being born into dark, murky conditions, where hope for such beautiful life seems dubious, the lotus grows, rises above adversity. Ironically, this same dirty water washes it clean as it surfaces. As the lotus opens each petal to the air, not a stain or spot of mud remains externally. The inner lotus too, has never seen a drop of mud or dirty water. It is pure, and bright, and beautiful. 所谓,出污泥而不染 I guess in life, the adversities we overcome make us the people we are. The tougher the circumstance, the stronger we grow to become. But at the same time, just like the stems underwater in current, we need to learn to bend in order not to be broken. Strength, With Love. Facts adapted from https://withanopenheart.org/2013/01/04/the-story-of-the-lotus/ on 16 June 2018.
I Mayday-ed but actually wouldn't have had it any other way - Family Drama / SMU Juris Doctor6/1/2018
When I paid the $100 application fee I felt like I was throwing it to lottery. You know, like, I thought that there was no chance I was going to make it. But what prompted me to even try? Serendipity, I guess. I was reading my relatives' affidavit and drafting our reply point-by-point to our lawyer when I thought, I might as well be reading law.
We draft our reply (lay out the facts and reply to what the other side is saying), send it to the lawyer so that the lawyer can draft a draft (though sometimes they just copy chunks from our email and paste it in), then send back for our confirmation (so I can read what I wrote again) before it becomes an affidavit filed to court (and they send a copy to us after its filed, and I read it again). So yeah, a lot of reading for a non-legally trained person. I didn't consider another law course other than the SMU Juris Doctor, because what was the point of trying multiple schools when there's just one you want (and you don't buy lottery from both Singapore Pools AND illegal bookies right?). I've been browsing the course site for a few years and I felt that SMU's pedagogy was different and more engaging, and everything just feels right to me. [This article has been edited for grammar on 1 May 2020, and also because the SEO for this blogpost has matured so much that I am no longer comfortable sharing about my family drama in detail. All I can say is, gosh, my writing isn't perfect but it has gotten A LOT better after two years in SOL.] So, the SMU Juris Doctor application. Summarised timeline with possibly useless comments:
When the letter dated 20 April came, I couldn't believe it. Its a surreal feeling where I'm filled with disbelief on the inside, the surface of me is ecstatic, and the aura around me feels like a dream, and then I went through a period of struggle to decide on whether to accept the placement offer. [post add-on] There's always been a rather percentage of people who drop out. Around 20%. My class started with 30, and we're left with 22 from the original batch now, though by the time you reach your second year students from previous batches who had taken a leave of absence of deferred modules start to join the class. The first two payments are really close together, so some people would have spent over $20k before they decided to quit. It's just that sometimes reading law isn't what it seems on the surface, and it's really not for everyone. Oh, and prepare to be amazed by how you can feel that you're learning so much, and at the same time feel like you're completely stupid for being confused over the concepts. I think I spent my first year feeling that way, humbling. If you're interested in the SMU JD Application, write in and I'll answer to the best of my abilities. :) Cheers, Mori |
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