"Ah Ha"

Everyone has had an “ah ha” moment at one point in their life I suppose, but most of mine are more like “ah ha” periods. They usually span over a length of time that eventually leads to that moment of realization where I would say “Ah Ha”.

One of my greatest “ah ha” moments, or time periods, would be the time span which led to me realizing that I really wanted to go law school. I have always been interested in law, but I have also had my doubts about it as well. I wondered if I really wanted to be in school that long. And I wondered if law was something I would really be dedicated to or if it was just a passing interest that I would grow tired of. At one point, I had even changed my mind and decided that I didn’t want to go through that much extra schooling. Little did I realize that I would soon change my mind yet again—this time permanently.

During my sophomore year in high school, I joined the Mock Court Trial Club. Like I said, I was interested in law, and I thought that it would be something fun to do. (I still had it in my mind that I did not have the patience to actually become a real lawyer.) Well, Mock Trial actually proved to be more serious than I thought. We learned actual courtroom etiquette, rules, and laws. Then, there was an actual attorney who came in and coached us on these techniques and guidelines. All this was in preparation for a competition against another school.

I would say that all this preparation and participation in Mock Trial at my high school led to the realization that I really was genuinely interested in becoming an attorney. But the actual “ah ha” period was the duration of the Mock Trial competition. The interesting thing is that my part in the competition was not that of a lawyer but that of a witness. However, the witnesses go through the same type of preparation as a lawyer. As a witness, I had to know how to answer the questions asked in ways that help my side and hurt the opposing side. I had to know the rules of the courtroom as well as laws in case my lawyer got tripped up and needed me to help him/her out. Witnesses also had to know the facts of the case better than anyone since we were portraying a certain character that had to be realistic. Not only that, but I was an expert witness. As an expert witness I had to know the facts and be able to recite them in an intelligent, professional manner when asked about them. My training for the case was really not all that different from the attorneys’.

So I was called to the stand, and I was so nervous. What if I forgot an important fact? Or what if I said something that hurt our case? But after the first couple of establishing questions like “Please state your name for the court.” and “What is your occupation?”, my nervousness died down. At the end of the trial, the other team/school was actually declared the winner, but the “judge” of the case, who was actually a practicing attorney, also had to name the “best lawyer” and “best witness” from each side. For our side, I was awarded “best witness”, and the “judge” said he even thought I was the best witness in the entire trial. I was actually surprised, because I thought I could have done so much better. This made the moment even more spectacular because it wasn’t even my best and it still turned out to be the best in the competition. All my studying and preparation had actually paid off, and I thought to myself, “This must be what it feels like to win a court trial.”

Even though my school did not win that Mock Trial competition, and even though I did not actually play the part of a lawyer, that moment when I was named “best witness”, and my feelings in response, proved my desire to be an attorney. I knew then, that I liked the challenge of studying all the laws and rules and then appealing to the judge or jury in the courtroom. I liked putting on the business suit and presenting those facts in a professional manner. It was fun to me, not work. I realized that law school would be much more of a challenge but that it would lead to the realization of my dream, so it would be worth it. The training leading up to the competition was the road to my “ah ha” moment, and the conclusion of the trial was where that “ah ha” moment came into full focus.