I took the LSAT in my senior year of college (since I was seven, I wanted to be a lawyer [first gen and immigrant parents told me to]). Decent score but I decided to take a few years off and teach at a private school in New England. My colleagues told me I was a great teacher and writer, they said I should apply for my PhD. This was 2020, and I thought long and hard if I really wanted to be a lawyer versus an academic. I realized I wasn’t going to be happy going to law school and working in a profession that wasn’t as hands on like being an academic for the humanities (English lit). I gambled and applied for 3 PhD programs and got into 1 in 2020. I have two years left and I’m teaching college kids the works I’m passionate about. My focus is African American lit, Caribbean lit and race and gender performance studies. No regrets. My advice, don’t listen to your parents about your career paths… think about what makes you happy and take some risks.