Becoming an Attorney

You know how we all spoke about being all sorts of things as kids...well, that is how it started for me. From lawyer, air hostess, journalist, human resource manager, banker, even foreign service officer (aka diplomat), I've dreamed it all. All valid dreams as they represent the peculiar phases of my life.

Two key determinants worth sharing though. Promise not to laugh at the first.

The silly, if not vain reason: 

It must have been my second or fourth undergraduate year in the University of Ghana (I forget the exact year) and I went visiting a good friend/colleague at the International Students Hostel (ISH 1) (possibly for a study date or some other similar reason). We stood on the balcony of his room, overlooking the car park and small field and behold, there gathered was a resplendent group of young adults. There was everything striking about them.  Oddly, they didn't quite fit in yet there was something special and somewhat superior about them. I had seen many other groups before but this one stood out. They all wore white shirts and seemed so prim and proper  (stiff, on hindsight...lol). So I ask Chief (my friend), who these people were and he responded non-chalantly - oh some law students, its their law week. I think they have sports for today.
Gosh, was I so impressed. The image of those oblivious law students having fun struck a cord with me.   It fit the perfect picture of a lawyer I had painted whenever I read about an accomplished lawyer in a novel (Mills and Boon, I suppose).  That day on the balcony of ISH 1, I conceived the idea to become a lawyer (and to stand out like they had).

To the more practical reason:

I remember one fine afternoon, close to the end of my national service. My uncle (bless him) called out to me and asked the famous what do you want to do with your life question. In comes the foreign service officer phase of my life...hahaha (I was serving at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration then). I responded saying how I enjoyed my time at the ministry and therefore wanted to go on to study international relations and to chart a career path thereon (mind you, I had no interest in the subject neither did I even care for international news, heck! news generally - I'll tell  the story of how I went on to embarrass my whole genealogy at a LECIA interview someday). He inquired about my one time desire to study law and I gave some lame excuse, I'm certain (that phase had long passed, excuse me). Long story short, said uncle said, to trust him, he had studied international relations and law as well (he had a masters degree in international relations and was a practicing lawyer) and he would advice that I pursue the law instead. He informed me the next day was the closing date for purchasing application forms and handed me a sum of money to acquire the forms (more like instructed but what does it matter?). Reluctantly, I went ahead and purchased the forms the next day. I owe it all to him, truly.

Four grueling years later (on October 3, 2014) my name was entered on the roll of lawyers! The story of those oh-so-ah-mazing four years, you will definitely hear overtime.

There, you have it!