What a Difference a Year Can Make

A year ago today, I was about halfway through my relatively easygoing public interest summer legal job in downtown Manhattan. I would hop on the train, get off at Broadway-Nassau barely thirty minutes later, stroll past City Hall and the Brooklyn Bridge gleaming in the sun, past J&R Music and the Manhattan Municipal Building with its newlyweds, past the Sugar House prison window, and onto the bench beneath the shady trees and chirping birds to slowly enjoy my coffee in the breezy courtyard between buildings. After work I would get home before six, throw on my regular clothes, and start what was basically a whole new day. It was probably one of the most relaxing summers I've ever had, even if it did only last two months.

Fast forward to the summer of 2009: I wake up dead tired, get ready in a mad rush, stumble out to the garbage F train for a stalled ride to midtown, get off at Rock Center, rush about eight blocks, throw back a coffee in the gray cold morning while standing next a stone pillar on Park Avenue, head up to my office building, and plant my butt in an office chair to research and write for basically 10 hours straight, day in and day out. By the time I get home at around 8:30pm I'm exhausted, and just have enough time and energy left to maybe watch some entertainment and prepare to repeat it all again the next day.

So what is the difference, you ask? Why am I doing this to myself? One word: money. And maybe experience. There is no doubt that this summer's option is better for my wallet. But at what point does it become worth losing one's mind? Regardless, I'm almost halfway done with seven weeks to go. We'll see if it gets any easier.