What I find curious about all of our discussions about grades, license pawning, capitalism, and the like, is the lack of discourse about how one’s views on these topics is profoundly shaped by the lens through which they view the world. In other words, class and culture are the pink elephants in the room that make the refrain, “Don’t pawn your license”, in many ways, overly-simplified and disingenuous. The ability to “not pawn your license” and, on the other hand, use it to save baby seals, for example, presumes a position of privilege. If I had my way, I know exactly what I’d do with my license and my life. Unfortunately, the reality of family circumstances and what I have been raised to pursue and value in life, which is largely informed by my culture and socio-economic status, runs counter to the refreshing notion that one should just follow their passion. For those who are concerned about money, like I am, it is difficult to step out on faith, clinging to the gospel that if you do what you love the money will come. This is because this has rarely, if ever, been modeled by the elders in my life. Many in my family live to work, not vice versa, miraculously outpacing home foreclosure, the “repo man”, and every Tom, Dick and Harry who has their hand out waiting for a piece of their non-existent pie.

Considering this, it is no wonder that my mother is proudly telling her friends and extended family, “Jennifer will be working in a New York law firm this summer, making x amount of dollars a week. Yes, I know girl. She will be making more in ten weeks than many people make in an entire year!” To my mother, at least, if I’ve set myself on a path to pawn my license even as a 1L – no matter the sacrifices I will ultimately have to make – financial independence is the ultimate return. After all, in her words, “everyone has to pay their dues” and, in mine, “charity starts at home”.

-- JenniferGreen - 23 Feb 2010