I like to consider myself ambitious. I like to get ahead. I like to do things young. I finished school young. Married young. And by many standards, had my first child (relatively) young. That is – 22 when finishing law school, 22 when I got married, and barely 26 when I gave birth to my son.
So by my mid-20s, when most people who are coming out of law school are just my age or maybe even older, I already had about 3 years of legal experience and was admitted in both Illinois and Florida. That’s awesome, right?
But when I go to the courtroom or among other attorneys (often older, white males, frankly), sometimes I have to prove myself even more (like it wasn’t enough that I’m awesome, right?!). Being young has its advantages, but despite the achievements, not everyone takes you so seriously. Sometimes the clerk will show surprise when I am actually representing a client (and not the actual client) and even then, a clerk or two will politely remind me to do basic things that every attorney knows in the courtroom.
I admit that I never tried to finish school early. It’s just something that happened. I was able to skip a grade and knocked out a year’s worth of college credits before even starting college. But I see other people who actually try to achieve these life goals. For awhile, I would hesitate condoning this. I thought it’s hard to be taken seriously, you feel small, or you have to constantly try to compensate. As I am a bit older, I would say go for it. How was was Alexendar the Great when he conquered half the world? I’m actually not sure but he was 32 when he died. How old was Mary Shelly when she wrote Frankenstein? 18!
People can do amazing things at young ages. My advice is – go for it.