More of 2009...

October-December 2009: I spent most of October, November & December working with MANA in Washington DC. In between work with MANA I did a little sight-seeing. Top 2 things I did: watched an oral argument at the Supreme Court (well worth the 3 hours I waited in the freezing cold) & attended a Christmas Open House at the White House (compliments of my friend Dilen who is interning there).

In November, I got the GREAT news that I passed the Texas Bar Exam. What a relief! I made trip to Austin, Texas for my swearing-in and then spent Thanksgiving in Arkansas. After heading back to DC for a few weeks, I drove back to Arkansas for Christmas.

2009 recap...continued

August 2009: I took the bar exam at the end of July, and then spent the first few weeks of August relaxing & spending time with friends in Dallas. While I was in New Zealand, I found out that I could defer my start date at Weil, Gotshal & Manges in Dallas until January 2011! I decided this was a once in a life-time opportunity. So I officially became a nomad mid-August when I moved out of my apartment in Dallas & put (almost) everything in storage. I spent the remainder of 2009 (and will spend 2010) doing pro-bono work and traveling. I began pro-bono work with MANA (Mother Administered Nutritive Aid) in mid-August. http://mananutrition.org/ MANA is a non-profit organization working to fight malnutrition in Africa. I am also working with the Kibo Group International. http://www.kibogroup.org/ Kibo is aimed at developing creative partnerships & solutions for sustainable African development.

September 2009: In September, I took off a few weeks from my work with MANA to take a "post-bar exam" trip to Europe. I spent 2 weeks traveling through

Italy, Spain & France. Of course, Italy was my fav & where I spent most of my time...I hit Rome, Florence (with a trip to the Villa-where I studied for a semester when I was at Harding), Cinque Terre, Lake Como & Venice. Then I spent a few days in Barcelona and a few days in Paris before heading back to the USA.

Recap of 2009...a year full of blessings!

I thought I'd start my blog with a recap of 2009...it was a great year of many blessings & travels!

January 2009: I spent my last semester of law school studying in

Melbourne, Australia & Christchurch, New Zealand. After working full-time for most of law school, this was a great way to spend my final semester. It was by far the most laid-back, relaxing semester of school! Mom came over with me for 2 weeks & we traveled to Sydney & the Great Barrier Reef before my classes started in Melbourne. I did learn some Australia law, in between hikes up mountains in Tasmania (I hiked the mountain the picture above), camping under trees of koalas, and surfing lessons.

March 2009: After 2 great months of studying & traveling through Australia, I headed to New Zealand. I spent another fabulous 2 months studying in Christchurch & traveling all aro

und NZ. Besides learning NZ law, I also learned how to drive a

stick-shift ("Auto Annie") on the left side of the road! I traveled around the NZ with friends in "Auto Annie" doing amazing things such as hiking glaciers. After my last final exams (EVER...unless I decide to go back to school again), Dad came over and we traveled the South Island in "Auto-Annie". The Kiwis & Aussies are some of the most welcoming & laid-back people I have ever met!

May 2009: I returned from New Zealand just in time for SMU graduation. I was so blessed to have my family & friends come to Dallas for my graduation. Dad, Mom, Grandma, my sister Jenni, my brother Matt & sis-in-law Laura all came. My best friend (since birth!) Laurie surprised me & flew in from Denver. What a great graduation present! Brandie & Jonathan Reynolds, two of my friends from Harding, also came. It

was special to have them there because they were visiting me the weekend before I started law school & helped me carry the TONS of books I had to buy! Unfortunately, reality set in after that weekend....I started Barbri (bar exam review) classes the following week. It took a bit of adjustment to sit in Eddy Dean's Ranch and listen to law lectures May-July, after studying 4 months in Australia & NZ. Thus, May-July were pretty uneventful...spent most of my time studying for the bar exam.

I FINALLY did it...

...I finally started a blog!!! Many of you attempted to get me to blog while I was in Australia/New Zealand, but I never got around to it. And again many of you have been nagging me about starting a blog this year during my deferral from Weil. So I'm finally starting it and will try VERY hard to keep it updated throughout 2010.