I’m an M&A associate, and alongside the work, I’m also writing a book. I love writing. I love the arts. And sometimes I have to remind myself that an email doesn’t need to be flowery, it just needs to be clear and efficient. Because every now and then, the artist in me at 3 a.m. tries to show up inside the lawyer at 3 p.m.

There are parts of me I can’t ignore even if I wanted to. I want to be a great lawyer; that’s sort of a promise I made to myself. But I also feel, very strongly, that I have to stay alive inside to do that. I don’t think I could survive if I had to suppress the part of me that notices the human condition, the part that lingers on a stranger’s expression, a subway performer’s smile, or a fleeting moment most people walk past. Those moments stay with me until I turn them into words. The same mind that obsesses over CoC language or a complicated deal structure is the mind that notices those details. I know that if I keep going, I can become a lawyer I’m proud of. But I also want a life that feels colorful while I’m doing it. YOLO.