Mi Camino Transversal

I think the last time I kept up anything resembling a blog or journal entries, I was 19 years old. But since I have been preparing for a semester in Guatemala (my first time abroad for an extended period of time) I thought it might be appropriate to give this another try. 

This blog is for you - my family and friends. Although I know that you will all be busy in your own lives, I hope that at least once or twice you'll wonder where I am and what I'm doing and browse through the pictures and blog entries that I promise to post.

Let me begin by explaining why I chose this blog title - because I'm sure you are not surprised to hear that I gave it a lot of thought.  (Be forewarned - this blog will likely contain too much information)

"Mi Camino Transversal" embodies a lot of ideas - On the one hand "un camino transversal" is a path that diverges from the principal direction, or it can also mean a "crossroad". In math, a transversal line is basically one that cuts across two or more lines. During my final semester of law school I will be working for human rights organizations in Guatemala - this is not typical of the law school experience. The title also implies that I am literally on a journey, and specifically that this blog is about MY journey. At first I thought I might use something along the lines of "atravesando el mundo" but the truth is that this particular journey is limited to a very particular part of the world so keeping it more simply about my personal journey seemed appropriate. And if you know about my journey, or my life, thus far you know that I can never take the easy road. I always have to take things one step further or be in a position of leadership; not because I feel that I need to be the one in control, but because sometimes this is the most effective way to make the changes I want to see happen in the world around me. Finally, I probably haven't been clear in my description of "mi camino transversal", but nonetheless I'll leave you with the words of one of my favorite poems:

The Road Not Taken

by Robert Frost (1874-1963)

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference. 

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Date of Departure: January 22, 2011

Days in Guatemala: -12

Date of Return: TBD

Graduation Date: May 27, 2011

California Bar Exam: July 26-28, 2011