Headaches In My Life

"How do you think the judge is going to react when you tell them you can't make it to court because you have a headache?"

17 years ago, I was a student at Westmount Elementary when my sixth grade teacher asked me this question. It caught me off guard, but I remember feeling flattered that he saw my potential. And although his sincerity was inspiring, perhaps the most important takeaway from this moment was the fact that it was the first time in my life I had actually thought of myself as a lawyer. At 12 years of age, I hadn't yet given much thought to what I wanted to be when I grew up. Yet even before I had contemplated law in any capacity, experiences in my life were rendering me an attorney in the making.

Which brings me back to headaches, and pre-adolescence. I started practicing martial arts when I was five years old. I attended a Taekwondo program five days a week, there were immediate benefits: after six months of training I no longer needed my inhaler. Soon I began competing in tournaments all around the province and abroad. I was very successful and developed my self-confidence, but after nearly five years of competing I was experiencing the effects of burnout.

My dad was extremely competitive. On a

It's an example of how a struggle in one's life can serve as a foundation for growth. It also explains how my dedication to Taekwondo throughout my formative years has mentally prepared me for a busy career in law, where it's common for lawyers to work at least 60 hours a week. Growing up, the bell may have signaled the end of the school day but my “work” was never finished at 3 o’clock. I've been putting in 12 hour days since I could tie my shoe laces. This lifestyle as a youngster left an imprint on my developing mind and produced a volume of discipline that was quite uncommon among those in my peer group. This work ethic is still with me today, and for better or worse, is a part of who I