Subscribe
The Daily Grind Video
CLOSE

Have you ever had someone say something to you that was beyond questionable, more than absurd, and more like, wow, did you really just say that out loud? I hate to say it but that happens more often than I think it should. Sometimes I wonder, is it my face? Do I look like someone you should say something crazy too? Maybe I need new people (smile)! Unfortunately, when such things beyond the realm of reason are said to me, I’ve been told that my facial expressions reveal my true thoughts on the matter…so, I’m working on that! But, in the interim, I can’t help but internalize the ridiculous content of what was spoken. It usually lingers and sometimes even festers until I’m somehow able to flesh it out and make some sort of sense of it all.

It’s that time of year again…May. The caps and gowns of all colors have been penetrating the streets near and far, signaling the achievements of new graduates of various schools. It makes me reminiscent…reflecting and remembering…

[pagebreak]

A few years ago, a 1L (first year law school student) made an affirmative, declarative statement to me that I’m still trying to grasp although there seems to be some weight behind it. She told me that she chose to come to law school “to get her “Mrs.” and earning her JD while here was great too!” I laughed. Maybe it was a nervous laughter, but it subsided when I realized she was dead serious! As the days and weeks and months passed, I indulged in a first-hand account of her emotional ups and downs—not so much dealing with the stress and test of endurance in being a law school student, but because she hadn’t officially secured a prospective husband within the first few weeks!

Time has passed since that conversation, and I probably would have dismissed the comment by now and moved on, but for the fact that lo-key, she wasn’t alone in her primary pursuit! During the past few years, I’ve become aware of an ideology among some women, specifically those earning professional degrees: women who enroll in professional school with the primary purpose of finding a husband and the secondary purpose of leaving with whatever appropriate degree. Perhaps this ideology is not as new to the masses as it is to me, but my awe and bewilderment stems from the fact that the class of women who construct this ideology cross both racial and age constraints.

[pagebreak]

Moreover, it begs the question, is the up-front burden: risk of loss, proportionate to the potential gain: a successful return in the form of a diamond ring, a white dress and a new husband?

In recent conversation with women in professional school who are of various backgrounds and ages, the common perspective shared is that where it’s wonderful to have the degree of a JD, MD, MBA, etc., having a Mrs. is still, most coveted! Moreover, when it comes to conversation with these women about creating a successful relationship, the general consensus seems to be that where opposites may ignite the attraction, it takes more commonality—shared interests, goals and values to sustain it—so, where better to find someone who shares those interests than in class?

I think I understand the argument, but don’t know if I can totally agree. I went to law school to challenge the way I think, hone my analytical, research, writing and editing skills, and to learn about the law. I wanted to sharpen these transferable skills that could lead me back into the publishing industry with a