Since coming to law school, I have been rejected more times than ever before. Like many of my classmates, I participated in this year’s 1L Toronto Recruit. This recruit is typically described as a small recruit for Toronto Big Law firms, and I knew my chances were slim. A typical firm may only choose to interview and then hire a handful of extremely qualified candidates from all of Canada’s law schools. So, I had little expectation going in but kept the tiny “you never know” idea in my back pocket. Within the last two days before call day, I received five rejection emails. On call day, I was ghosted by the rest.
Rejection hurts. It hurts more than understanding Property Law. Research shows that rejection triggers the same parts of the brain as physical pain. No matter how much I guarded my heart, it would always be hard to shake the lie that I was unwanted or that I was not good enough. Who would have thought viLawPortal was basically a dating app for law firms?
Yet through the support of my friends, mentors, and community, I learned to move past rejection and find the opportunity within it. By far the best advice I received was to take this experience as a learning opportunity for the 2L recruit. This OCI opportunity will be much bigger and yield greater chances for success. Even so, there are many more opportunities to find a summer job with smaller firms this year. Like my friend Shawn always says, “It’s all about mindset. Meditate when you feel stressed. And when life gives you lemons, make Kool-Aid.” I am proud that I gave my best this recruit. I am excited to find the open door that these closed ones are leading me to. Admittedly, adopting this growth mindset is a skill I am still learning and practicing.
I know most of us have probably heard it all before, but it does not make these words any less true. It is always worth a reminder that your identity is more than just your law school grades or job offers. You made it into Osgoode Hall Law School. You are intelligent, creative, determined, passionate, and courageous. You have real value in society, and I am glad to be in a community with you.
Since I like to procrastinate Property readings, I wrote a poem. I call it “Mindset.”
You fear to fail
But life is not all about grades
Rather the relationships you’ve made
And while you missed Valentine’s Day
Shoot your shot anyway
Chocolates are probably on sale