Lone Wolf

The wolf, the gunner of the North American wilderness.  A top tier animal.

Today Earlier I found out my brother's dog was taken and eaten by what everyone is thinking is a wolf.  You see, the small dog emerged from its home and made his way into the wilderness, never to come back.  The next day, what people thought was a wolf was seen near the property, looking for seconds.  One is never enough.  Slurp!  There are a few other dogs there that would make a good snack. I feel bad for my brother and his dog.

A lone wolf is an animal or person that generally lives or spends time alone instead of with a group.

I am not on law review, nor do I partake in the sport that is lovingly called moot court.  In school I sit near the front and keep my head in the books (and sometimes in the clouds).  I have only had a few good friends in my life.  A small circle of people who I felt shared certain interests (like Magic: the Gathering), but not necessarily life goals (however, they do not carry college debt). 


I am a lone wolf.  I shy away from the 'pack' mentality.  I don't feel the need to be like others, to please others, or to stroke the ego of others.  The idea of working in a social place like a big firm doesn't really appeal to me.  In fact, I used to read that people went to law school because they were not very social.  However, now I realize that with all the talk of networking and stroking egos, that law school is just as social as anything else.  What a disappointment.

It's not that I hate other people.  On the contrary, I am open to having friends, and I enjoy learning about other people.  However, I have little want to partake in all kinds of social interactions.  I posted before about not being friends with many people in law school.  I figure that I spend enough time in those glorious halls, why should I bring that to my private life?  I have rarely had friends from my jobs, as, frankly, once I leave the employment premises, I don't like to be reminded of it.  Same goes for law school.  I go to law school, I don't live law school.  Or am I fooling myself here?

I have never been in a study group (the idea seems counter-intuitive to me).  I don't think that it has impacted my grades.  Some law students may ask: "will being in a study group get me better grades?"  I don't think that it will.  It may, but it may not.  It all depends on you.  If you want to do well in law school, you must do well in law school.  This is the kind of circular reasoning that you are probably used to from your law school professors, is it not?

I once read that if you live like a lawyer in law school, you will live like a student after.  I live like a student in law school and I know for a fact I will live like a student after law school.  It's funny when law school administrator's pretend that you'll be rich after law school if you do certain things.  Jump through these hoops and you shall see riches like no normal man sees.  You, my sons, sons of the law school, you are the makers of the world, the achievers, the great ones, the elite, you are rising above the masses, you are the cultivators of society.  Go forth children, and make me proud.  Is a circus animal promised freedom if he jumps through a certain number of hoops?  Is an elephant promised an ice cream cone (just the cone, not the ice cream) if he lends a park bench one of his spots?

The 1% of dogs in society.  The other 99% never get a banana.

One reason that I live like a student in law school is because I am not very social.  In fact, I enjoy not spending a lot of money.  I don't mind living below my means, and to be honest, it's something that many law students should learn.  In fact, it's pretty important for law students to learn right now what it's like to be living low.  I see too many people in law school literally blowing their student loans.  For example, one semester, the girl in front of me would spend her class time shopping for curtains.  I am sure the dorm room looked great in your hundred dollar plus curtains, but once you are paying back Sallie Mae for those drapes, you're going to be crying in the corner like a freshly neutered pup.  Another person I knew from the realm of the undergraduate spent $1000 on shelves from the Container Store for her closet.  Girl, contain yourself!

The only picture I have of dear brother.  I am so sorry about your dog :(

So, how does a person in law school, who is surrounded by young kids who all seem to sport the newest MacBooks, live below their means?  Do you feel like a fool if you walk into the room sporting a $60 computer that was a Craigslist find?  What about when you get home?  Are you embarrassed to let other law students see that you wrote your Legal Research & Writing paper on a Commodore 64?  

When you eat your legal lunch, is it the soup du jour from the cafetaria, with those fancy crackers (I think they call them Saltines -- I would not know, I am far too poor to afford such luxuries).  Or do you pack a banana and PB&J -- can you really afford the luxury of a banana?  When you make your way to the campus, are you riding high in a late model car, or are you packed in between sweating bums on the local bus?  Did you jump the turn-style or go through the back doors to save money?  When you dress up for that big Barrister's ball, are you wearing a fancy rented tux, or do you opt to forsake the event, because you would rather save the money instead of mixen-mingle with the professors and the big boys of law school?  Do you opt out of dancing because you could damage a limb and you have no medical insurance?  Are you saving your body parts for tough physical labor because you figure that's the only job you are going to get out of law school?  All I have are my limbs, my arms, my legs, and my Johnson, and even those can be lost if I am not careful.



It's not that spending money is bad in itself.  I don't mind letting the nickle fly now and again.  For example, I remember splurging on the collector's edition of Wrath of the Lich King back when it came out.  In fact, my characters often sport Lil' Frosty when they are ganking Alliance. However, that was YEARS ago, and when Mists of Pandaria came out, I wondered if I should even bother even buying the regular edition (you won't see me on the back of a Imperial Quilen flying mount or rocking the lucky Quilen pup -- that stuff is for the elite of society.)  After all, I had a lot of studying for the upcoming bar to do.  And I want to be able to afford a bar review course.

I can't help but wonder if my brother will be hiking deep in those woods that he calls home, and happen upon his dog.  I hope that it comes back to him, alive and well.  But the (third tier) reality is that the dog is probably at least partially digested now, making her last run through the large intestine of a lone wolf.  She was a good dog, and one that I will always remember as Princess. 

I wrote this blog a while back and edited it more recently.  The brother was distraught about his dog and ended up with pneumonia, almost dying.  He went to the hospital, after having numerous bouts of hallucinations, swearing that he saw Micheal Phelps in his backyard.  I think he is doing better now though.  This, my friends, is real life.  It's something brutal, isn't it?