Graduating from UM Law School! Batch 46 Edition.

I used to wonder how I would end my final year of law school, what I would do when that important day finally comes. Usually, after every final examination, my friends and I would enjoy our short freedom from law school by having meals together. It was such a simple way to celebrate, but it is also the most common way to bring friends closer. 

I had imagined since it is going to be our final year in the place that shaped us as young adults, I bet we would go around the faculty, lingering around at every familiar corner, and take as many group photos as we could. We would see people hugging and congratulating each other, saying we're so gonna miss each other, and the atmosphere will just be so lively with overlapping talks and laughter. 

Simple moments like those suddenly seem so precious now. And I realized now that it was those mundane moments that we cherished and missed the most.

Never had I imagined the current reality we are facing now. Instead of all those things we should be doing, we had ended our final year in law school at different places in this country. The important thing is, we are far from each other, from familiar friends and lecturers. The saddest part of it all is that it ended at the click of the "submit your final examination" button on a random Friday afternoon.

Sad? Of course, it is. We lost that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to celebrate this defining moment of our life together with friends we cherished so much. We did not get to hug close friends and tell each other, "We had made it, we had survived 4 years of law school!". 

Does it mean that it is not worth celebrating? Of course no. 

Some of my friends were losing the spirits to celebrate because it feels so normal and random to be ending our degree life just like that, that it feels like it isn't that meaningful anymore. I think, their feelings have not fully sunk in, yet. 

Irrespective of how we ended this moment, one day we would look back and miss the days we had spent together. It will be difficult for that now since we all have a different path to follow. Those faces we kept seeing will change into new faces, old routines will be replaced with new ones. We're proper adults, older, and unlike the good old days being students, we now have less room for mistakes.

As someone who is always excited about what the future holds for me, it would be a lie to say that I'm not afraid. All the uncertainties, unknowns, and what-ifs - as much as I am excited about it, I am also scared and anxious. But, at 24, I finally know it's normal for us humans to fear the unknown.  

With this post, I just wish to reflect and say that this moment deserves to be celebrated. I entered UM Law School when I was 20, so hopeful of what this place could bring, and how it could change me. But before I was 20, I did not even know where life would take me. I never aspired to even be part of UM law school, the so-called top local law school in Malaysia. Yet, life brought me here. I say this moment deserves a special celebration because these 4 years were not easy. It was tough. Each year we thought the yesteryears were a joke as if they happened again, we would know how to handle them better. But that is life, isn't it? There will always be a first time in everything. Life never gets easier. It's us, who gets wiser.

So, congratulations for living and going through it all so well. Don't be down with some bumps on the road. Focus on the people who are there with you, who stay by your side to get you through it all. As a wise friend once advised me, there will always be light at the end of the tunnel. If you haven't seen it yet, then it's not yet the end. And hey, we even did a full course of trial advocacy online too. So, congratulations for that, for overcoming challenges and rising up better. For trying each day to be better and to make the most out of everything in these trying times.

From the bottom of my heart, I wish to congratulate my batchmates for we had finally ended it all. This is a new beginning. Stay hopeful and may we all get what we wish for. :)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Entering My Fourth Year of Practising Law

In my final year of law school and in the early days of chambering, I often heard a “myth” that practicing law, especially litigation, is toughest in its first five years. During this period, many are “defeated” by the challenges inherent in practicing law and end up quitting because they are “unable to withstand the pressure”. Those who persevere and stay beyond this period usually continue practicing for a very long time and are deemed the successful ones.  The concluding advice is usually this – if you find practicing difficult now, do not worry because it is meant to be challenging. The five-year mark is the threshold. Once you hit five years, things will be much easier, and you are very unlikely to quit anymore. Yet I never recall if anyone actually guaranteeing a happy ending at the end of those five years.  The lingering unspoken thoughts are these – perhaps once they entered their fifth year of practice, they stay on because they believed they cannot do anything else a...
Read more

It was the day where the prosecution won, laughed and said, "We succeeded to protect the nation's security." But the only thing I felt was rage.

I once had the opportunity to assist in a case involving an undocumented migrant. He was from Myanmar, awaiting deportation after getting arrested for not having proper documentation. The deportation date has been fixed. There was no time to waste. When the case came to us, we were two or three days away from preventing the deportation from happening. Long story short, we were told that if he was deported back, he would face persecution by Myanmar’s authorities due to his past activities relating to the anti-government movement. We could not meet him. There was simply no time. We did what we could, hoping it would be enough. Now, under international law ( which I always believe is bullshit anyway, as the country’s sovereignty would always be an issue ), there is this principle of non-refoulment. Simply put, you are not supposed to send someone back to a place where there is a potential danger to their life.  However, international law is not binding upon us. Malaysia is also no...
Read more