This week’s personal highlight is my receipt last Friday morning of my third admission letter from a university in France–this time from the Université Paris II – Panthéon-Assas. Assas is touted as the top law school in the country and I couldn’t be more excited to have been considered worthy of unconditional admission.
But first, a quick rundown of this week. Monday was midterm election day in the Philippines. I voted in my maternal hometown of Sta. Maria, Bulacan. I voted for opposition and independent candidates for the Senate, for Kabataan Party-List for the House of Representatives, abstained from voting for a district representative, and undervoted for candidates in the local government, largely because I didn’t know most of them. Tuesday, a lot of people (at least in my social circle and my family) went back to school and work disheartened and concerned with the results of the elections, early counts then showing (and as they still do) that the opposition was routed and President Duterte is set to gain supermajorities in the Senate and the House of Representatives.
The rest of the week was all about my work as a lawyer, mostly dealing with collection cases and various real estate transactions and issues. That’s it. It was a mundane week except for the elections, I even forgot that this week was my first work anniversary at the law office! Looking back, I couldn’t be more grateful for this opportunity to have worked in a private law firm immediately after having [eagerly] resigned from the government’s communications agency.
Going back to my admission letter. So, I’ve been submitting applications for the past three years to at least two prominent schools in France, but I’ve always been denied admission, for one reason or another. This year, without much expectation, I gave my dream of studying in France another shot, since it only entailed submitting the same set of documents I have long prepared anyway. The only difference this year, being that I have obtained a formal English language proficiency certification (instead of just a school certification that the classes are conducted in English) and that I have updated my curriculum vitae to include my private law office experience. I also added more schools to my list of prospects since, again, it only entailed submitting the same documents I have already prepared. Lastly, having come from two years of rejections, I tried to re-evaluate my application essays to illustrate better my motivation, my passion and my experiences beyond my being a lawyer–perhaps, I thought, that would humanize me more as a well-rounded individual.
So here we are, I’ve had three acceptance offers, not the least from France’s top law school! I am still waiting for the admissions decision from two other universities, and then I will decide where to pursue my LL.M. This is a privilege that I’ve been praying for and will not let pass.
Sunday was typical family day–we went to church, did our groceries and had lunch out. I don’t usually have photos taken of these regular occasions, but I realized these moments may not come regularly soon so I should make the most of the time I spend with my family.