When I was younger, I used to think about when I would be older and know everything, and then I could just stop and be. I would be me, I would be done with education and done with learning how to work and what to do at work. I would know who I was and I would feel comfortable and confident and then just live. But the funny thing is, that "when I was younger", could be decades ago or it could be last week. Because what I have learned so far, is that you never stop learning, but hopefully you also never stop trying.
Working as an attorney, they call it the "practice" of law. We attorneys sometimes joke that it's the practice because the law changes, and judges change, and how we work changes, and how we should work changes. There is very little that is static. And as an attorney, knowing that there will always be something new to learn or adapt to, also means that I have to adapt. I have to know not just what to say, but how to say it. And how to say it differently to different people in different circumstances, while still trying to convey the same sentiment.
My work reminds me that I don't want to stop trying new things or new ways or new skills. It reminds me that when I think I know the best way to say something, I should not stop there. I should assess, each day, whether that is true. Whether what was the best way yesterday, is still the best way today. I hope that, in my life, I keep this openness to change and revise, because to stay the same and stop trying, is not really living the way I want to live.
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