Pinching Myself

About three weeks ago, the Mock Trial Team had its annual end of the year banquet. I dined on a gourmet meal while listening to a prominent trial attorney from Pensacola speak about what it takes to be successful in the courtroom. There were lots of beautiful women there, and everyone was dressed nicely.

I couldn't help but think that this time three years ago- 2006, I was slaving away for the Post Office in Washington, DC. I remember looking at my watch during the Mock Trial banquet and thinking, yep, about now the evening supervisor would be calling me to see how much more mail I had to deliver. I'd request backup, which may or may not come.

It was rare that I was off the street before 10 pm. More than once, I was on the street delivering mail past midnight. I weighed 155 pounds when I started the job. When I decided that a career with the Post Office was not the best choice, I weighed 135 pounds.

I could write a whole series of blogs about my experiences with the Post Office. The job was rough. Don't get me wrong- there were a lot of great people who helped me out in DC, but the starkness of how difficult my existence was in 2006 compared to where I am now is amazing.

It feels like a dream, sometimes. I mean, imagine waking up at 5 am on what was supposed to be your day off to a phone call from your boss telling you to come in and get a mail route ready to go as soon as possible, or in the alternative waking up in Florida without an alarm clock and getting ready to go to class and social events like this banquet.

It almost makes me nervous- like this is a dream. I'll wake up and find out that I still work for the Post Office and that I have a 12 hour day ahead of me of lifting crates of mail in freezing rain.

Life can be pretty bad, sometimes. But being a student at FSU College of Law is pretty good. There are lots of people who would trade places with me- while there are very few people with whom I would trade places. Honestly, I'm probably in the top 1% of the world's population in terms of general happiness with my life.

Happiness is a fragile thing in any person's life, though. I'll ride this wave for as long as I can.

Until Next Time,

Nathan Marshburn