Hey guys, I know it’s been a looonngg time since I’ve provided any life updates on my blog—Thanks COVID – but I am super excited to fill y'all in on how God has been moving in my life recently. BUT, to do that requires me to take y'all back.
In 2017 I was interning in Jupiter, Florida with the St. Louis Cardinals during Spring Training. I had a free weekend before the ST season started so my mom (who was in town visiting) and I decided to make a day trip down to Miami since we had never been before. After parking and walking over to beautiful South Beach, I had this butterfly feeling in my stomach and I could hear God’s voice ever so softly nudging me and saying “This will be your home one day…” I completely brushed it off thinking “yeah okay God, whatever you say. I’d never live here” and never gave it a second thought.
[BOY WAS I IN FOR A TREAT]
Fast forward to 2018, I had since moved to Phoenix, Arizona to pursue my master’s. I needed a break from school so I called my mom and told her to meet me in San Francisco for a mother/daughter weekend. One day on the trip we were taking in the sights on Pier 39 when I had a weird feeling. A familiar feeling. The same butterfly feeling from 2017. Again the Lord said to me “This will be your home one day…” Alright God, nowww you’re speaking my language. This is way better than Miami you told me about before. Glad you changed your mind.
In the coming months, I was praying for God to give some clarity on where my new law school home would be. If you had asked me at the time, I had my heart set on moving to Dallas and going to SMU. I applied, picked out preferred areas to live, made friends in the Dallas area, found internships, and was just about to go all in on Syd in Dallas when I thought “Alright, let me just ask God one more time for some clarity on where I need to be before I accept.” If you know me, you know I have the most wild dreams ever. I remember the craziest details when I wake up so it just so happens to be a great tool for the Lord to speak to me. I prayed my prayer for clarity, went to sleep, and had one of the most vivid dreams of my life.
In the dream I was dressed in business clothes (like a law student/intern would wear) and walking into a building. I hopped on the elevator and pressed the button for the 3rd floor. If you follow dreams and the biblical meaning for numbers, 3 is a number of harmony, of God's presence and of completeness. Once on the 3rd floor I looked out the window and could see the beautiful beaches. On the beach I could see a sign: “WELCOME TO MIAMI”. I woke up the next morning even more confused. Lord, you said what now?! Miami?! Why Miami?! Although I was confused, I felt complete peace with the decision. I spent the next day researching all the law schools in Miami and applied.
I once heard a preacher say “You know it’s from the Lord when it’s a decision you don’t’ like, but it brings you peace. Because God doesn’t always do the things you like, he does the things you need”
I believe St. Thomas University School of Law was an absolute God sent for me. I am blown away by the amazing professors and students I have had the privilege to get to know over the last two years. I had figured out one plan for my life, but now I was on to a more difficult task: where did I want to take the Bar once I graduate? I have been putting off the decision since law school orientation because truthfully I did not know what I wanted. I thought a few years of law school under my belt would give me clarity (it didn’t…until recently).
I truly believe I was placed at St. Thomas with a purpose. St. Thomas is unique as it offers the opportunity to graduate with your Juris Doctor along with a certificate that basically acts as a “minor” in undergraduate degrees. Throughout my time of completing my elective courses, I developed a newfound love for intellectual property law. I decided to pursue a certificate in IP.
It was in my second year when I had a breast cancer scare and I spent a lot of time reflecting on my life, how short life can be, and what I wanted to accomplish in mine. After countless nights of stressing, I had another vivid dream. This time I was older, walking into a supermarket in a town I recognized to be a suburb of San Francisco. I was walking the cookie aisle (of course! As I write this I'm two rows deep into a bag of Chips Ahoy Chewy hahaha) with my daughter. The whole dream was strange to me because I could not understand why I was in San Francisco and if you had asked me about kids, in my dream world, I've always wanted 3 boys.
I again chose to ignore the signs the Lord had been showing me and decided what I wanted after graduation was to move back to Phoenix so I would be close to a lot of MLB spring training facilities to narrow my travel time once I settle down with a family. [LIKE HOMEBOY DIDN’T JUST TELL ME MY CHILD(REN) WOULD BE IN CALIFORNIA]. I started the Dallas regime over again: sent test results to the Arizona Bar, followed construction companies on Instagram who I was sure were going to build my forever home, and reconnected with old friends.
During all of this, I was also taking a Business/Corporate Law class at school. This class has turned out my absolute favorite class I’ve ever taken (including all of my sports law classes). Business Law coupled with my Intellectual Property classes offered at STU has opened a whole new world for me. I was listening to a business podcast on a long drive a couple of weeks ago and found myself smiling so big listening to this woman explaining her job in Silicon Valley. I was hanging on her every word, hearing how hectic, busy, and exciting the tech space is. I felt the Lord tugging on me again—“this is your calling.”
Since then, I have been praying and I’m happy to announce I have decided to take the Bar in California. Lord willing, I plan to move to San Francisco upon graduation with the hopes of pursuing a career as in-house counsel for a corporation. I still plan to practice as a sports agent on the side for a small amount of clients. I wouldn’t say my passions have changed—just pivoted a bit. The Lord sent me a nudge which led me to a law school in Miami which led me to find a new passion that would set me up for the next phase of my life in a city based on another nudge. When the Lord pushes you in a direction, follow it wholeheartedly. I'm ready for the challenge of corporate law and how I can change it. I am so grateful for this new journey and can’t wait to plant roots in my new city!
See you soon San Francisco!
