I don't know what was I thinking when about 3 months ago my Moot coach slightly mentioned, almost hiding it, that we would have to work all through our vacations, in order to finish drafting the Respondent's Memorandum. You may ask yourself, "the what memorandum?", let me answer by saying it's the Grinch who stole most of my Holiday vacations. That's right, I had to work on the few days before Christmas and just a few hours before December 31st, cool vacations huh?
What's the Moot? Simply put it's a kind of competition based on simulated arbitration proceedings (kinda like trials), and many law schools around the world send a group of students to participate in them. Thanks be to God, I got into the team going to Moot in Vienna. But the story doesn't end there, in order to go to Vienna, our team has to send two lawsuits called the Claimant's and the Respondent's Memorandum. To say the least, it hasn't been easy, but it surely is rewarding and I stand by my decision to get involved (can't really take any other position so far into the game now, anyways).
I've always been told that anything that's worthwhile is hard to achieve and those goals that we strive and fight to accomplish are those which we value the most. Human beings, generally speaking, like to feel successful, have those notches under our belts representing the achievements we have conquered, when they remember that simple truth. However we seem to, out of fear, laziness or just because we are so comfortable, ignore that we have to fight for what we want and instead opt to sit back and watch TV or do nothing productive with our time. See what we're dealing with here? Two common and extremely natural examples of human behavior. So, what to do? Easy, as all things in life a little thinking needs to be done before we act so you should be asking yourself the following question: "what is in my best interest?" Nobody, absolutely nobody ever wants to act against their own good, but being human we are so erratic we seem to never know what is good for us and what is bad for us. Many factors, including pride, prejudice, our own preferences and misconceptions, seem to make us irrationally and subjectively, confuse those choices which are in our best interest with those which are, frankly, harmful to us. Thus, it is important to sit down just a little while longer (you can do it!) and analyze in a cold, matter-of-factly and rational manner what really is good for you and what isn't. Believe me once that little light bulb flicks on, right on top of you, you'll begin to first fear the consequences of taking harmful decisions and then love the positive effects of taking the right ones. The trick is to never stop falling in love with those choices which are good for you and their effects, and that is something I really can't help you with, because all I can do is tell you to visualize yourself after suffering all the consequences of bad decisions and compare that image with one of yourself after being successful. Tell me then, which picture do you like the most?
Nothing comes easy in life and every success has a price, and it can only be paid in full. So yeah, you'll have to jump through a lot of hoops and fight very hard, in order for that victorious vision of yourself to become a reality. I won't lie to you, it's gonna be hard and sometimes you might find yourself wanting to give up, once and for all. But let me tell you something, when you had the guts to picture yourself as being successful at accomplishing your goals, what you did is that you picked up your rifle, strapped on your rucksack and threw yourself into the thick of battle...you turned into a fighter. Never forget the courage you had, when you decided to take a stand against any challenge, because that same flurry of bravery will always keep pushing you forward, even if you fall down once in a while. No matter what obstacles you run into, how many nights you won't sleep, how much your head will hurt and how much you'll have to sacrifice, be brave and always keep in mind that those bruises are the ones that will mold you into that person you dared to visualize yourself as.
It is precisely those thoughts what keep me going, night after night, when I have to sit down and type some part of my draft. It hasn't been easy at all having to give up my vacation time and invest it in writing a lawsuit, when most people are either sleeping, partying or doing anything people do during the holidays. But, you know, some months ago I promised myself I would beat this challenge, that I want to be the best I could be. I picked up my rifle and I don't plan on putting it down at all and I really don't think I'm going to be unstrapping my rucksack either, because right now, I'm in the thick of battle and I do not plan to get defeated. I have to be that guy I pictured myself to be, so I can't afford to give up: it simply isn't an option. Hence, who cares if I have to spend some time working, while everybody else is vacationing? I, for one, really do not, since my reward, that prize I'm struggling for, is much more valuable than resting.
Come to think of it, I know what I was thinking: "I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me." (Philippians 4:13) I saw this challenge, I knew it would be worthwhile, I knew it would be a hard fight but also knew that God has my back and that I can do anything if I put my faith in Him and let Him fight by battles. And if I stumble I know He will be there to pick me up and put me back on my feet, ready to keep on fighting. Restless vacations indeed, but a rewarding experience and the chance of a lifetime are waiting for me, on the other side of the world. A Restless holiday, but an undeniable success because of it.
Now I have to keep working on my draft, seems a restless night awaits me...
