DATE A GIRL WHO STUDIES LAW...

By: Elie Balaquiao
June 16, 2013

Date a girl who studies law. She is not meant for everyone. But a person like you, with enough courage to try the extraordinary, deserves nothing less than a girl who has the fabric of what keeps peace and order in the world at her fingertips.

A girl who studies law is strong-willed. She has a strong sense of justice. She will fight for what she thinks is right, whether it entails telling off people who cut lines in the train station or volunteering for an NGO to fight mining companies. A girl who studies law speaks her mind. She will take none of your nonsense. She will tell you when you are wrong, even if it hurts you. A girl who studies law cannot be contained. You cannot tell her what to do, or what to believe. She knows what she wants. You cannot make these choices for her. A girl who studies law questions authority, dogma and conventional matters. She finds her own way of doing things. She dances to the beat of her own drums. A girl who studies law does not need you. She is a strong girl who can take care of herself. You do not need to be at her disposal. She will not run to you to carry her books, or fix her broken things, or finish her uncompleted tasks. She knows how to deal with these things, without your help. A girl who studies law will scare you. And you should be scared.

But a girl who studies law is a girl who understands the things that matter. She is strong-willed because she comprehends the need for people to fight for what is right. She may be abrasive, she may tell you off if you are wrong, but know that a girl who studies law has read and seen too many injustices to just remain quiet. She speaks her mind because she has something to say. She understands the inalienable right and the undeniable value of being able to express one’s beliefs. It is in her DNA. A girl who studies law challenges conventional thoughts because she knows that enduring the status quo has caused far too many sufferings in the past. A girl who studies law has a sense of the order of the universe. Her thoughts are inextricably linked to her society, her country, her world. For this, a girl who studies law will always have concerns that are above you and her. Her mind wanders in the greater scheme of things. Hence, you can never contain a girl who studies law. She can live without you. Her master is the law. She breathes and lives for the law. And because of this, you can never completely have her.

But nonetheless, date a girl who studies law, because she will change your life. A girl who studies law may have her thoughts permanently attached to the concerns of the world around her, but in the end, it is to you and your causes that she is ultimately linked. Your pain is hers and while she may express her sympathy in ways that surprise you – by arguing, by invoking provisions of the law –know that this is the best that she can offer you, her best skill for your sake. She may disagree with you often, but know that when she does, she does not expect you to give in. She, of all people, understands the value of ideas, especially yours. In the marketplace of ideas, yours is the one she is most fascinated about, the one she is most interested in, the one she wants to hear the most. A girl who studies law values you for your ideas. She may not need you at all, but know that when she decides to be with you, it is not because she cannot live without you, not because she is destined for you, not because life is nothing without you, but because she is a girl who has the capacity to make decisions for herself. She is with you not because she has to, but because she wants to. She is a girl who knows what she wants -and in this wide random world, she wants to be with you. She is a girl who understands that life has its shackles and to a certain extent, people are not free. They are bound to choose the things that are given to them by their circumstances. She is, after all, a student of the law, of rules that keep people in line. Hence, know that when she chose you, and continues to choose you every single day, she is exercising a kind of freedom. You are her freedom, and she is yours.

Find her in coffee shops. She is the one with her nose buried in a thick book, with her highlighter in one hand and her post-its in the other. She is the one who occasionally looks up from what she is reading, still lost in thought, trying to ponder the essence of what she has just read. When you spot her, try not to interrupt her as she reads. A girl who studies law hates that the most. Wait for her to take a break, and then say hello. Offer to buy her another cup of coffee. Read a book with her. Study with her. Be there for her to remind her that there is a world that exists beyond her readings. Find her in libraries, reading laws and cases, trying to memorize important details. Bring her post-its sometime, or surprise her with new pens. A girl who studies law is also a girl who loves school supplies. Tell her about things that you like, ask her about things that make her happy. Do not ask her for legal advice. But when she does share legal thoughts with you, listen to her. Appreciate her. Be open about your worries and concerns. She may seem too preoccupied about her books and cases, but understand that when you come to her to share your struggles, you will make her feel important and valued. She will be more than willing to share in the sorrows of the path that you take. If she genuinely cares for you, she may even temporarily forget that she is a girl who studies law. And if you genuinely care for her too, know that you must also care for the things that she values. Encourage her to study. Inspire her.

Date a girl who studies law for she knows the good and the bad in people. She knows your flaws and respects you for them. Date a girl who studies law for she feels for many things. She is passionate about causes. She will be as passionate about you. Date a girl who studies law for while you may lose her for days and weeks, as she toils away in her readings and her laws, when you finally have her back, she will make you understand that the best thing that one can give to another is the gift of time. Know that when she is not fighting for her causes or studying her laws, she wants to be with you. Know that as she is being consumed by her love of the law, she thinks of you –always. Be awed by her persistence in mastering her laws and her jurisprudence through sleepless nights, personal losses, illnesses, failures, frustrations, and heartaches. Understand that her capacity to love you is as persistent. Date a girl who studies law because for all her big ideas about big things, her true happiness lies in the small details– her post-its, her highlighters, the smell of coffee in the morning, an afternoon walk, your smile after a long day.

Date a girl who studies law because life is too short to be spent on the ordinary. A girl who studies law will show you the boundaries of love. She will teach you to stretch these boundaries, and even to erase them - because for alove is limitless.