Are you a law firm I've sent a resume to? Please read my About Me
I was born in Los Angeles, California. Within months of my birth, my family moved to a town called Nogales, Arizona. For those of you unfamiliar with the geography of small Southwestern towns, Nogales is in Southern Arizona, right on the Mexican border. If you picture the map of Arizona, you should notice that there is an oblique angle in the US/Mexico border. At the vertex of that angle is Nogales.
Growing up in Nogales was an experience, I suppose, although I hated most of it. I didn't hate that I grew up in a bilingual culture, though. When I was at home, Spanish was the predominant language. In fact, English is my second language - when I started kindergarten, I only spoke Spanish. I also think that growing up in Nogales gave me a relatively unique high school experience. I doubt that very many people have had to bribe the Mexican police to let their drunk friend out of Mexican jail at 4am after a night of drinking in a Mexican bar built into a cave?
Still, I longed to live in a bigger town. When I graduated to high school, I followed my best friends to Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. I don't know why I chose that. Maybe because it was the furthest school from Nogales, and because it was completely different in terms of terrain, climate, etc. And I also wanted to live somewhere where it snowed.
Flagstaff was horrible at first, and then it got worst. But then things got ridiculously awesome. It was in Flagstaff that my personality became solidified, I think. I had always been loud, but I think I became outspoken in Flagstaff. I had always loved shouting, but I learned to argue in Flagstaff. I am who I am because of NAU and Flagstaff. I spent some of my happiest years in that city.
College was strange for me. Although I had always known that i would go to college, I had no idea what I wanted to do. That's reflected in my long list of majors. In chronological order, my majors included: studio art, computer science, math, electonic media, and, finally, philosophy. I don't know why I was ever listed as a studio art major. I don't know why I signed up for computer science. I guess it was because my friends did, and I heard you could make decent money. I chose math because I loved math, and i was intrigued by the beauty of it. But I wasn't smart enough for that. I chose electronic media because I worked at a TV station and really liked it. But I ultimately settled on philosophy because I became hooked after I took just one class.
Philosophy gave me a chance to create arguments, criticize arguments, write logically, think, examine the nature of the universe, science, knowledge, morality and, most importantly, provided me with an open forum to try out my ideas and scream at people.
When I was within one year of graduation, the time came to decide what I was going to do. In my heart, I wanted to get my Ph.D. But something pulled me away from that. My professors all felt that I would make a good lawyer. After circumstances pressed the issue, I decided that law school would, indeed, be my destination.
I applied all over the place, always to cities bigger than Flagstaff. I got into a few placed, but I hadn't gotten into my first choice school. Then, one day, my mom walked into my room carrying a regular-sized envelope from the University of Wisconsin. "Damnit," I thought, "I didn't get in." I despondently opened the envelope and, to my surprise, saw that I did get in.
My friends accompanied me on an epic road trip across America. I had never been to Wisconsin before. I had only been East of the Mississippi once; when I was a little kid we went to Boston. I had one of those Lord of the Rings moments somewhere West of the New Mexico border: "If I take one more step, it'll be the furthest East I've ever driven," I thought.
We arrived in Madison a few days later and, after galavanting around the Midwest for a few days, my friends left. And I was all alone for the first time in years. It was daunting at first. And things got worse for a while.
But now things are awesome. I started Here is No Why on January 1, 2006 because I wanted a place to rant and rave. But I also wanted a place to write out my ideas and expose them to criticism. And, of course, I wanted to keep in touch with people.
Now I'm about to start my third year of law school. I'm the Senior Managing Editor of the WIsconsin Law Review. And I can't wait to be a lawyer.
Stay tuned for more!
Growing up in Nogales was an experience, I suppose, although I hated most of it. I didn't hate that I grew up in a bilingual culture, though. When I was at home, Spanish was the predominant language. In fact, English is my second language - when I started kindergarten, I only spoke Spanish. I also think that growing up in Nogales gave me a relatively unique high school experience. I doubt that very many people have had to bribe the Mexican police to let their drunk friend out of Mexican jail at 4am after a night of drinking in a Mexican bar built into a cave?
Still, I longed to live in a bigger town. When I graduated to high school, I followed my best friends to Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. I don't know why I chose that. Maybe because it was the furthest school from Nogales, and because it was completely different in terms of terrain, climate, etc. And I also wanted to live somewhere where it snowed.
Flagstaff was horrible at first, and then it got worst. But then things got ridiculously awesome. It was in Flagstaff that my personality became solidified, I think. I had always been loud, but I think I became outspoken in Flagstaff. I had always loved shouting, but I learned to argue in Flagstaff. I am who I am because of NAU and Flagstaff. I spent some of my happiest years in that city.
College was strange for me. Although I had always known that i would go to college, I had no idea what I wanted to do. That's reflected in my long list of majors. In chronological order, my majors included: studio art, computer science, math, electonic media, and, finally, philosophy. I don't know why I was ever listed as a studio art major. I don't know why I signed up for computer science. I guess it was because my friends did, and I heard you could make decent money. I chose math because I loved math, and i was intrigued by the beauty of it. But I wasn't smart enough for that. I chose electronic media because I worked at a TV station and really liked it. But I ultimately settled on philosophy because I became hooked after I took just one class.
Philosophy gave me a chance to create arguments, criticize arguments, write logically, think, examine the nature of the universe, science, knowledge, morality and, most importantly, provided me with an open forum to try out my ideas and scream at people.
When I was within one year of graduation, the time came to decide what I was going to do. In my heart, I wanted to get my Ph.D. But something pulled me away from that. My professors all felt that I would make a good lawyer. After circumstances pressed the issue, I decided that law school would, indeed, be my destination.
I applied all over the place, always to cities bigger than Flagstaff. I got into a few placed, but I hadn't gotten into my first choice school. Then, one day, my mom walked into my room carrying a regular-sized envelope from the University of Wisconsin. "Damnit," I thought, "I didn't get in." I despondently opened the envelope and, to my surprise, saw that I did get in.
My friends accompanied me on an epic road trip across America. I had never been to Wisconsin before. I had only been East of the Mississippi once; when I was a little kid we went to Boston. I had one of those Lord of the Rings moments somewhere West of the New Mexico border: "If I take one more step, it'll be the furthest East I've ever driven," I thought.
We arrived in Madison a few days later and, after galavanting around the Midwest for a few days, my friends left. And I was all alone for the first time in years. It was daunting at first. And things got worse for a while.
But now things are awesome. I started Here is No Why on January 1, 2006 because I wanted a place to rant and rave. But I also wanted a place to write out my ideas and expose them to criticism. And, of course, I wanted to keep in touch with people.
Now I'm about to start my third year of law school. I'm the Senior Managing Editor of the WIsconsin Law Review. And I can't wait to be a lawyer.
Stay tuned for more!
A Note to Potential Employers
This is my blog. I pay for the hosting and I maintain it myself. The opinions I express here are my own, and I will defend them at any time. Although the blog is accessible to anyone with an internet connection, I do not promote it, other than by telling my friends that they should humor me and come read about what's on my mind.
Although I had a job at a law firm this summer, you will not be able to find any details about that job on this blog. You will not find any mention of any personal, confidential, professional, or legal issues I faced in connection with my job. You will not find any mention of the name of the place I worked. You will not be able to find these because they do not exist.
It's true that I curse a lot in my postings on this blog. My use of the word "fuck" is particularly notable. However, it would be a mistake on your part to assume that because I curse on my own blog on my own time, I will curse in front of a judge, in the presence of a partner, or when I'm with a client. I certainly won't curse at an interview. It would be equally erroneous for you to assume that, because of the way that I choose to express myself on my own time, I am unworthy of consideration for a position at your firm.
In short: I want to be a lawyer, which is more than I can say for some of my fellow law students. I want to litigate. I want to help real people deal with their real problems. I'm very intelligent, extremely motivated, easy to work with, and I'm an incredibly hard worker. Still, I've read that some employers are apprehensive about hiring people who maintain blogs. I guess it's up to you whether you take my ramblings, posted in an unfashionable corner of the internet, as a measure of what kind of an employee I'll be. I'd prefer it, however, if you considered my resume, which demonstrates beyond all doubt that I'll make an excellent lawyer.
If, however, you must take Here is No Why into consideration, then I invite you to at least explore it for a while. I think you'll find that, somewhere between the curse words and the inherent dorkiness of my love for Superman, is an aspiring lawyer who would make an excellent addition to your firm.
Although I had a job at a law firm this summer, you will not be able to find any details about that job on this blog. You will not find any mention of any personal, confidential, professional, or legal issues I faced in connection with my job. You will not find any mention of the name of the place I worked. You will not be able to find these because they do not exist.
It's true that I curse a lot in my postings on this blog. My use of the word "fuck" is particularly notable. However, it would be a mistake on your part to assume that because I curse on my own blog on my own time, I will curse in front of a judge, in the presence of a partner, or when I'm with a client. I certainly won't curse at an interview. It would be equally erroneous for you to assume that, because of the way that I choose to express myself on my own time, I am unworthy of consideration for a position at your firm.
In short: I want to be a lawyer, which is more than I can say for some of my fellow law students. I want to litigate. I want to help real people deal with their real problems. I'm very intelligent, extremely motivated, easy to work with, and I'm an incredibly hard worker. Still, I've read that some employers are apprehensive about hiring people who maintain blogs. I guess it's up to you whether you take my ramblings, posted in an unfashionable corner of the internet, as a measure of what kind of an employee I'll be. I'd prefer it, however, if you considered my resume, which demonstrates beyond all doubt that I'll make an excellent lawyer.
If, however, you must take Here is No Why into consideration, then I invite you to at least explore it for a while. I think you'll find that, somewhere between the curse words and the inherent dorkiness of my love for Superman, is an aspiring lawyer who would make an excellent addition to your firm.
A Note About My Name
My name is largely inconsequential, but you can call me Ismael Tapia II. The surname is my mom's maiden name. I've always been much closer to my mom's side of the family. And by "much closer," I mean that I haven't spoken to any of my father's relatives in maybe 15 years. My father died when I was 3 years old, and none of my family on that side, including my paternal grandparents and several step-brothers and sisters, ever seemed to take much interest in me. That sits just fine with me; my relatives on my mom's side are awesome in every way and have been all the family I've ever needed.
Anyway, that's where "Tapia" comes from. "Ismael" is my middle name, and it has a proud tradition in my family. The first person I know of who had it was my great-grandfather. Then, my uncle, who died before I was born, had it. And finally I was named after my uncle. I guess that would make me the third Ismael, but my uncle has been built up much more than my great-grandfather in the family lore, so I decided to just be the second.
Anyway, that's where "Tapia" comes from. "Ismael" is my middle name, and it has a proud tradition in my family. The first person I know of who had it was my great-grandfather. Then, my uncle, who died before I was born, had it. And finally I was named after my uncle. I guess that would make me the third Ismael, but my uncle has been built up much more than my great-grandfather in the family lore, so I decided to just be the second.
