random thoughts – Day 1,694 – (Wednesday) – legal regrets and such

Tonight, I participated in a Zoom webinar called “A Brief introduction to Copyright for Working Artists” offered by Mosaic Lowell as part of their professional development program. It was led by a Boston lawyer and was an interesting presentation about Intellectual Property rights that reminded me of one of my several regrets in life. At least twice, I had considered law school. The first time was when I took Business Law as an undergrad. I liked that class so much I was one of a handful of us who attended all of the Friday afternoon classes, even on the gorgeous spring days when half the school chose to skip out. The Uniform Commercial Code and the implied warranty of merchantability were fascinating. To me, anyway.

There was a point when I started researching law schools, followed by the point where I majorly screwed up, like I did so often as a younger person with a modicum of hope. At supper one night, I expressed my interest in law school out loud to family. 

As so often happened, it was the kiss of death. Instead of being met with questions like "what do you like about it," “is there a specific area you are interested in?” or “what might you want to do with a law degree,” I was met with the same “support” received any and every time I expressed a preference for anything. A torrent of p*ss immediately flowed fast and hot into my bowl of circular oat cereal product. “All lawyers are scum.” “Lawyers are [insert your favorite insult or cuss word here].” “Ewww, why would you want to do that?” And just like my younger self always did in the face of such love and support from people I cared about, I dropped it. Eventually I learned to not share my diminishing number of dreams and hopes because it was easier than seeing them peed upon and stomped.

The second time that law school was considered, I was in my 40s, living in Tennessee, and working full time. I kept the idea to myself, did some research, and then dashed my own budding dream in my own calm, rational, and logical manner. A law school in nearby Nashville had part-time night classes and affordable tuition. A gal pal's father had graduated from there and was enjoying a successful career. The thing that stopped me wasn't the expense, time, or hard work that would be involved, but the lack of American Bar Association accreditation. My brain recognized that the degree might not mean much outside Tennessee and Kentucky and my heart recognized that I likely wouldn’t be living in Tennessee forever.

Anyway. Tonight's webinar on copyright, plus a conversation last Friday where I told colleagues my favorite undergrad class was Business Law, had me all nostalgic and sad about the things I could have/ should have done. A real (and recurring) “what if?” wonderment moment.

If only I could jump into the way-back machine and grow a spine and not let the influential adults in my life dash the few dreams I dared to dream. If only I could go back and learn to just shut up and not say anything until I had fully prepared and could present my arguments. If only there was actually a way-back machine (which, as an invention, would fall under patent protection and not copyright, which I learned tonight). Sigh.