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Essay / My Path to Choosing a Career as a Tax Attorney
I was anxious before I became introspective. I was anxious on December 22, 2010 when I went to an internet cafe to register for my Jamb exams. I was anxious when the scroll bar went down and I chose law as my course of study. I was anxious when this act attracted more than one glance, from people wondering why this fool believed so much in his abilities that he would choose such a difficult course to take and expect to be admitted. I was anxious when I checked my admission status. I was worried when I was admitted to study law. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay My anxiety wasn't logical, but the law was. The law depends on logic, according to which each similar application will give a similar result. It was a rebellion, one that made me feel safe more than I can express in words. My anxious self was the same as the one reading the law. It influenced all the extra effort I made as a law student: the extra time I spent in the library because I was so sure the professor would surprise us on exams with a topic that he did not teach; when he surprised us, it made me understand the need to work hard, because in the moments when they didn't, I learned the importance of smart work. All the times I spent evaluating legal reports looking for subtleties in the different opinions of judges made me understand the importance of having a point of view. Each time, I was afraid that a case law that I had cited had been canceled by recent case law; I appreciated the dynamism of the law and its duty to adapt. Every time I consulted more textbooks than necessary for a trivial point of law that escaped me in class; I understood that the duty of a lawyer was not to know all the laws but to know where and how to find all the laws. Every time I've been disappointed in my grades after a very anxious effort, I've learned that the best efforts don't always translate into success and that expectations aren't usually guarantees. For all the work I have done as a member of the legal aid group; I became aware of privilege and the very natural tendency to believe that human suffering is not as serious as one might imagine when in reality it exceeds them; how something as simple as showing up to court can make a difference to someone who hasn't been brought to court in 5 years and the unimaginable power of a law degree to create a presumption of knowledge in your favor and the need to follow and never refute this presumption, but prove it no matter what. My anxiety kept me on my toes and until I learned to control it, it was the fuel that drove me, but the values I absorbed when I had it stayed with me. I admit that I haven't always had an interest in tax law. It has a reputation for being boring, too serious, affecting nothing and limiting. I discovered the beauty of tax law thanks to the phrase I heard one day from my mentor: “Taxes affect everything”. Tax law became for me this hidden line that ran through all aspects of government, financial decisions, life events and the practice of law, forcing me to appreciate the intricacies, to stay current in because of his hyper dynamism, and he offered me the privilege of becoming a specialist in an already specialized field. I was fascinated. I devoted part.