Personal Statement: Importance of Being Earnest

What belongs in the Personal Statement of a law school application? The recommendations of each law school vary, but the overriding suggested themes are why I'm interested in pursuing a degree and career and how my unique abilities, experiences, and character set me apart as an exemplary candidate. Many schools' admissions guides urge me to write about hardships I've overcome, such as my race, culture, linguistic origins, or poverty. My husband told me about a female acquaintance whose law school application detailed how being a victim of rape inspired her to pursue a career in law. While I don't intend for this blog to become my personal soapbox or confessional, I had a similar experience (but a very different reaction!) and find it appalling that a woman could give another person--much less a rapist--that sort of power in her life.

My mother is a guidance counselor (and by proxy a career counselor). I phoned her during my morning commute and lamented to her that (1) my only hardship has been my lack of hardship (I don't think there are many scholarships for middle class Midwesterners of European descent) and (2) I don't have any sob stories from which to draw my excuse for wanting to go beyond my current plane. She pointed out that I don't need a sensational story to explain my intentions; I simply need to earnestly describe the motivation behind my decision to pursue a legal degree. I reluctantly explained to her the "true story," rather than the sob stories I had begun weaving. The truth is that I fear stagnation both in my personal life and in my ability to positively affect the lives of others. In my current job, I feel that I have reached a pinnacle. I'm twiddling my thumbs, wishing for a personal intellectual challenge and a more direct way to impact others.

I could hear my mother nodding on the other end of the line. She understood what I was thinking better than I myself understood, and she brought up Maslow's hierarchy of needs. "Maslow" was a more common name in our household than our beloved family dog, so I was familiar with his hierarchy of needs; however, whenever my brain finally starts to evict his little pyramid diagram, my mother finds a way to reintroduce the man and reapply his findings to the current events of my life. I'm happy to report I'm clipping away at a mother-approved pace, graduating up the hierarchy of needs. My need to avoid stagnation and pursue a higher intellectual plane fits right into Maslow's (and my mother's) master plan for my life.

My mother suggested I write my personal statement using Maslow's hierarchy of needs as my guide and, after the discussion with her and some preliminary research, I agree that it's both fitting and honest. It won't be a tear-jerker and it won't get made into a Hallmark movie, but it will be genuine.

"Be true! Be true! Be true! Show freely to the world, if not your worst, yet some trait whereby the worst may be inferred!" (From Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, one of my favorite novels.)