Week 9:
Hiking Austin

August 9, 2020

This week has been exhausting but rewarding nonetheless. I say exhausting because of everything that is happening in the world currently and the uncertainty of everything going forward. I long to go back to normalcy, but I know that will not be possible for a bit longer. This week I attended the virtual Mt. Vernon council meeting where the council members voted whether masks should be mandatory in Mt. Vernon, it was voted that masks are mandatory. I also attended a Q&A for COVID-19 related questions Wednesday where Professors and faculty answered some questions that students had. Now thinking about it, possibly my week has been so exhausting because of all the COVID-19 tracking and updates I have been following. 

Work has been great and I cannot believe that next week is my last week! This summer has gone by so fast and I have learned so much. I have been doing a lot of translating this week which I really enjoy because I get to know my clients through this and I get to practice my Spanish. Something that has been quite rewarding for me is that motions I filed at the beginning of the summer for work permit renewals and motion to substitute counsel have been approved. It was a great feeling this week to see the work I put in had some good outcomes! 

Some other things I conquered this week were attending our final Spanish book club meeting where we read, “Poet X” by Elizabeth Acevedo. I am hoping the club continues on into the school year. I studied for the LSAT, and took a practice test. Currently I am 20 days out from the LSAT and it is starting to sink in how real everything is. Speaking of Law School, I was able to talk with a University of Iowa law professor and ask her questions about law school and the application process. After my conversation with her I am leaning more towards taking time off after undergrad to get some work experience. The finale of the week was going on a hike with my roommate to Hill of Life. It was so beautiful, but also humid and hot, as Austin is. We really saw the effects of the dry season in Austin when we came across a used creek that had almost dried up. It was so wonderful to see a bit of the nature side of Austin before leaving.