Coming Home

This week has been exciting, unexpected, and a bit nostalgic.   On Wednesday, I began a three-month staff lawyer contract position with  HomeBase!  I am extraordinarily fond of HomeBase, as it was the location of my first legal internship.  I interviewed for a position with them back in March (in fact, on the day after the bar exam ended), but they weren't able to hire me at that time.  Then, on Monday, I got an email from my old supervisor asking me if I'd be interested in some contract work.  I said "Absolutely!" and got a call from the executive director on Tuesday night, asking me to come in Wednesday.  So whirlwind!  For now it is a full-time contract position, but there is serious potential for it to turn into a permanent position.

It all happened so quickly, I didn't even have time to let it sink in and become really excited about it.  It's strange, because it doesn't feel like a "new" job; having already worked there for a summer, I mostly just feel nostalgic.  Indeed, reading over my posts from the summer of 2009, I realized that the last time I did Bay to Breakers (which I'm doing next weekend), I was working for HomeBase!  It's all coming full circle.

This changes everything.  I have an income (and can buy stuff).  I have a plausible path to a permanent position, which would enable me to get my own place and reassert my independence.  I can start repaying my student loans.  Most of all, this gives me a huge psychological boost on my bar exam results coming out next week.  Even if I don't pass, knowing I am employed makes me feel a lot better about it.  (And, because HomeBase mostly does policy work, bar admission isn't a requirement to work there.)  My heart is full of joy and thanksgiving.


Sing a new song to the LORD,
for he has done marvelous deeds.
His right hand and holy arm
have won the victory.
The LORD has made his victory known;
has revealed his triumph in the sight of the nations,
He has remembered his mercy and faithfulness
toward the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the victory of our God.


Shout with joy to the LORD, all the earth;
break into song; sing praise.
Sing praise to the LORD with the lyre,
with the lyre and melodious song.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
shout with joy to the King, the LORD.


Let the sea and what fills it resound,
the world and those who dwell there.
Let the rivers clap their hands,
the mountains shout with them for joy,
Before the LORD who comes,
who comes to govern the earth,
To govern the world with justice
and the peoples with fairness.

- Psalm 98

Stempson's Index

Boxes shipped cross-country: 12

Days it took to pack: 2

Old episodes of House, M.D. watched while packing: 8

Cute owl things given by Erin packed: 4

Hours left before my flight to North Carolina: 53

Days until I meet my law school dorm-mates: 6

Days until I turn 22: 14

Points to be given to whomever can correctly name the magazine that I'm referencing: 5

Although my boxes have shipped, I continue to pack. I am approximately halfway done tearing apart my room and then reassembling it in 16 x 16 x 10-inch boxes to be stored here in Sunnyvale whilst I am away. It's been rather interesting to go through my old stuff, especially the random journals and other writing I've unearthed. Looking back on my middle school and high school self affirms for me how much I have grown--socially, spiritually, and scholastically--over these past four years in college. I am a little embarrassed by the hubris I tended to demonstrate in my writing before college... I will strive against such conceit here.

It's difficult to wrap my head around the fact that I will be traveling so far away, won't see my family again until Christmas, and will be starting the most challenging academic year of my life. Ridiculous. The concept of going back East is so proverbial, so charged with expectation. I am filled with excitement at the prospect, have read countless books about law school, check the Georgetown Admitted Students website every day--and yet, at some level, I really have no idea what I'm getting myself into.

Ultimately, it's in God's hands. After going to Mass for the Assumption, my mom and I read a few Bible passages about Mary together. Mary's faith is an inspiration. As Elizabeth says in Luke 1:45, "Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled."

Blessed Mary, graceful Mother, I ask that you might pray for all of us embarking on new journeys this fall, that we will trust in God for our guidance and our strength. Amen.

St. Thomas More

With a scant six weeks left before I move cross-country, I thought I would take the time to set up the blog that I intend to update regularly throughout my law school experience. This summer, due to the counsel of the beloved Jesuit Joe, I am getting to know St. Thomas More, the patron saint of lawyers. At the moment, I'm reading Peter Ackroyd's biography, The Life of Thomas More, which has been very insightful. In particular, I find it admirable that More remained true to his faith even when tempted by power and threatened by martyrdom. I pray that I will be able to follow his example in serving God before all else.

The title of this blog--"In the pursuit of His justice"--is a quote from a prayer to St. Thomas More (see sidebar), originally adapted from a prayer that More himself wrote. I feel that this is an excellent goal for which to strive in the course of my legal education and career.

More is also the author of Utopia, a visionary thought experiment on how society might optimally function. As an idealistic 21-year-old with my own hopes and perceptions of how the world could be, this book provides a heartening platform; albeit, the argument is not for the feasible development of a perfect social system. Rather, More calls for the spurring on of dialogue about how we can continually improve life for those around us--in other words, by actively pursuing His justice. As Paul writes in Hebrews 10:24-25:

"And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, ²⁵not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching."

This verse has been on my heart for several years now. As I stand on the cusp of law school, a genuine consideration of the nature of justice as it relates to Christian love seems not only appropriate, but necessary.