Life is too short not to do scary things

 "Do something that scares you every day." This advice has stuck with me since the day I heard it from City Council Member, Quirina Orozco, when she spoke at a Filipinx Law Student Association event. Orozco's story touched my heart and the hearts of everyone in the room. She narrated her time growing up in Sacramento with her single, teenage mother. Orozco explained how she had a tumultuous high school experience and did not have any plans of attending college until her high school counselor encouraged her to try applying to Berkeley. 

Despite being a first gen student and not knowing how to apply to college, Orozco went on to attend UC Berkeley as an undergrad AND get a master's degree in public policy from Harvard University. She mentioned starting her career in Washington DC before returning to California where she obtained her JD from UC Berkeley. She has since worked as a prosecutor in Sacramento County. Within this time frame, Orozco stepped up to serve as a West Sacramento city council member where she enjoys giving back to her community. 

During her conversation with us, she mentioned how her life took a turn while serving as Councilwoman. She recalled going to the doctor for a routine check-up which resulted in unexpectedly being diagnosed with stage 4 renal cell carcinoma... kidney cancer. With stage 4 kidney cancer, treatment is not as focused on stopping the disease as it is on making the most of the time the person has left. Instead of letting the diagnosis consume her, she decided to "roll up her sleeves" and get to work ensuring that not only she was happy with the rest of her life, but that her family was set up for success once she was gone. 

Orozco's recounting of her views on life post-diagnosis inspired me in ways I had not expected. She told us that, had she not done things that scared her, she never would have received any of her degrees, worked for the White House, or created the life she now lives. 

As first-gen college graduates or law students, we've all done something that scared us -- probably multiple "somethings" that scared us. We took the time to study and take the LSAT. Some of us applied to law schools in states we may previously not have visited, and some of us ultimately moved to one of those law schools. At that time, we had no idea what to expect from this experience. We knew we would be stressed; we knew it would be hard; and we knew that it would open the door to about a million more scary things. Despite the fear, our grit got us through those scary feelings.  

Looking back, I have no idea how I had the confidence in myself to do these wildly scary things knowing they would be unlike anything anyone in my family had done before. But much like Orozco, I would not be on this crazy law school journey had I not done scary things. 

I've taken the advice to heart to do something scary every day because Orozco made me realize that, when I look back on my life, I don't want to think of what could have been and have regrets. This mantra has led to me confess crushes for my classmates (rejected both times), apply to nearly 100 Biglaw summer associate positions (rejected by every one), and being elected Managing Editor of the UC Davis Law Review (yay for successes!). I never would have done any of these things had I not been willing to embrace and try things that scare me.

Even though doing the scary things has led to rejection many times, I am confident that in the future I will be proud of myself for at least trying. After all, you never know where the scary things can take you. I hope that everyone who reads this is also proud of his/her/themself for having done the scary things that led you where you are today. 

I hope that you, too, start to do something every day that scares you.