Gratitude Adjustment

Happy Thanksgiving, my fellow Americans!  I’m writing this from the Seattle area, where I’ve gone with Cthulhu (my sweetheart, not the Great Old One) to spend Turkey Day with their family.  I’m currently digesting the mid-afternoon meal in a cornbread-induced bliss, so I figured flowing some creative juices would help my digestive juices.  Although a lot of things have developed at work recently, I don’t feel like writing about them in detail.  Instead, as cheesy as it may seem, I thought I’d write in the spirit of today and reflect on what I’m thankful for.

First things first, I’m thankful for where I’ve gotten in life.  A year ago, I was a high-strung law student unsure where life would take him.  Today, I’m a full-fledged lawyer with a car, a business, and a bright future in a nice small town.  All of this is possible thanks to a number of factors.  Obviously, I’m fortunate to be born in circumstances affluent enough to allow me to pursue a career in law.  Given that recent law school graduates aren’t always in high demand, I feel blessed to have located and locked down an open position; even more fortuitously, I was able to then find housing (not an easy feat in Tillamook) and a car shortly afterwards, making it all possible.  I’ve been extremely fortunate to have these opportunities, and I hope to make the most of them to help the less fortunate.

As part of my circumstances, I’m grateful to live in my home country, the United States of America.  I know that may seem unnecessarily patriotic to many and that many people will be tempted to point out the many, many problems with this country.  Rest assured, I am familiar with these problems (as someone involved in indigent defense, I am painfully intimate with these problems on a regular basis).  However, with all her blemishes, I love America.  Speaking as the descendant of economic refugees and fugitives from pogroms, I appreciate how this country has been good for my family and allowed me to be born, to live, and to prosper in my current state.  While I am no fan of objectivism or completely unregulated capitalism, I am grateful that this country has a free enough market to allow me to open and operate my own law practice and profit accordingly.  Furthermore, as one who staunchly believes in the rule of law, I am eternally grateful to live in a country where freedom and speech/press/religion and fairness under the law (due process and equal protection 4eva, fellow constitutional law scholars!) are enshrined in the reigning constitution (even if they aren’t always applied perfectly at times).  I know I don’t always sound like a patriot in day-to-day life: I don’t wave or display flags regularly, I’m sometimes critical of America’s history and institutions, and I frequently voice my concerns on where this country is going.  However, I think my actions speak louder than words: I believe so strongly in American notions of legal fairness, I’ve dedicated my life and career to helping the indigent through legal counsel in the grand tradition of Jon Adams and Gideon v. Wainwright.  As illusory as it seems to many, my family and I have succeeded at living the American dream.  I know that this country hasn’t always been fair to everyone (believe me, I see proof of that at my job all the time), but I hope that I can bring fairness to my clients and make the ideals of fairness more of a reality.

In looking back on how I got to my current position, I am extremely grateful to the friends and allies I have gathered and consulted with on my journey so far.  Throughout the toils, trials (literal and figurative), and tribulations I’ve faced throughout adolescence, college, my gap year, law school, bar preparation, and job-hunting, there have been plenty of friends and acquaintances who have been in my corner.  These include, but are not limited to: my loving parents (hi, Mom and Dad—I know you’re probably reading this!) and relatives, my high school friends from Hawaii, my fellow eccentric clowns from Willamette Improv Club, my London drinking buddies, my Salem drinking buddies, my Dungeons & Dragons buddies, Cthulhu and their family, my fellow budgeteers from the Hawaii Senate Ways and Means Committee, my fellow academasochistic law students (particularly my study partners, Moot Court partners, and superiors/subordinates on Willamette Law Review), the champions of justice at the Federal Public Defender of Oregon and Public Defender of Marion County, and my new comrades in the Tillamook legal community.  No matter the obstacle or ordeal, these associates came through for me in some way or another.  If any of them are reading this, know that I am grateful for your assistance and will happily return the favor—all you need to do is ask.

As I look forward in my career, I am furthermore grateful to the numerous mentors who are there for me.  Between high school teachers, college professors, bosses, law school professors, coworkers, and attorney mentors, I’ve had plenty of people willing to show me the way in the past.  Today, I’ve got my predecessor, my colleagues at the Tillamook County Defense Consortium, my current attorney mentors, and even Tillamook County prosecutors all offering to show me the ropes around the Oregon legal scene as a newbie lawyer.  No matter what challenges the coming months bring, I have no shortage of people to turn to when the going gets tough; for that, I am very, very glad.

Finally, I’m thankful all the little and/or stupid things in life that make my life a little more pleasant: pasta, TV Tropes, dried fruit, farmers’ markets, naps, quirky webcomics, Star Wars, French fries, nerd conventions, Spotify, online shopping, sushi, Ace Attorney, cheese, wholesome Internet memes, donuts, Honest Trailers, soft pretzels, classic rock radio stations, sourdough bread, online quizzes, salt, Cinema Snob reviews, tea, ASMR videos, chocolate, late-night talk shows, Pokémon, Death Battle, s****y coffee, video games, highly pleasurable things I can’t write about on this family-friendly blog (hi again, Mom and Dad!), ice cream, tie-dye t-shirts, the feeling of power I get from wearing my Oregon State Bar lapel pin, comic books, the excitement that comes from mastering a new recipe, superhero movies, and this blog.

I hope everyone is having a great day, be it in the U.S. or abroad.  Stay safe on Black Friday, everyone!