Admittedly, out of college I was entirely lost. I honestly can’t believe how much my career has evolved over the years! When you graduate from college with an English degree (and a Creative Writing minor) and you don’t want to teach, it’s hard to know what to do. My dad is a lawyer, and I always overachieved, so I thought, “Why not law school?” (Very Elle Woods style.) The year between college and law school, while I took the LSAT and waited to hear back from schools, I taught SAT and the writing portion of the MCAT at Kaplan.

Once I graduated law school, I started working for my Dad’s law practice, but after focusing so much on writing (I ran the fashion column in our college magazine and was the editor of our law school paper), I missed creative writing every day. So I started a blog. 

After about a year and a half, I decided to get serious about it. It really just brought me so much joy. I also was incredibly lucky to have a husband who supported every single one of my nutty ideas. In the last two years, I signed on with a media company, began working with brands I had always adored, hosted events, expanded into consulting, wrote an e-book on Blogging and the Law for The B Bar, traveled to New York Fashion Week several times, flew to cities (i.e., New York, London, Minneapolis, etc.) to sit down for meetings with people and brands I never imagined I could collaborate with and have dreamed bigger than I ever thought possible.

I’ve always loved to learn, and I’ve long been a big history buff, so law school seemed like the right fit. I’m not sure I’ll ever feel like I was meant to be a lawyer (I’m actually pretty shy, and not at all what I thought a lawyer should be), but law school was an incredibly important experience for me, and I learned so much about myself (and the law!)

Truthfully, I love the flexibility. My dad is an amazing boss and teacher, and working with family has been great—especially the part where I get to bring my baby girl into the office on busy days and have my awesome mom watch her. My family also is always there to support me—both in work and personal life—especially when the two affect one another.

After I got married, I got sick (cancer sucks), and having my family there to support me in every aspect of my life, was hugely helpful. Of course, working with family has it’s downsides—the lines blur—and we tend to take our work problems home with us at times; but having my own business through Glitter, Inc. actually helps me to switch gears from law to blog, and keeps me fresh and motivated.

I’ve always been a writer. I wrote story books in elementary school and handed out copies of a family newspaper I hand-wrote that I distributed to my parents on the weekends (man, I must have been a handful!). I wrote and edited newspapers in middle school, high school, college and even law school, so writing was always in the cards for me.

I started my blog out of a fear that I had chosen incorrectly. I was just beginning a career in law—a career I wasn’t sure I ever really wanted—and desperately missed writing and feeling like I was really creating something. The blog, like most blogs, started as a passion project, and quickly became so much more. I went to a blogging conference and picked up one of the best pieces of advice: fake it ‘til you make it. And that I did. Something just clicked, and I knew that I wanted to take this whole blogging thing as far as I possibly could.

I applied to a media company that seemed like a good match, and was accepted a few weeks later. Making money from my passion project: I think that’s when the light really turned on. I figured out that I could love what I was doing, and make money from it—it seemed like a win/win.

Blogging has actually helped me to love law more as well. I learned to stand up for what I wanted. I sat down with my parents and explained that I was never meant to argue in a court room (I stood in front of judges, shaking like a leaf, sweating in the days and hours leading up to every single hearing and court appearance. As a litigator, I always felt like I was trying to smash two puzzle pieces together that just didn’t fit, and in the end, I was right. It wasn’t me. I now write for our law firm—we practice mostly federal law, which is a document-heavy area of law, so it was a perfect match. I’ve learned to balance writing for the blog, law and consulting, and I’m so happy that I took the leap.

Once I fell in love with blogging (a.k.a., instantly), I knew I had to find ways to make law and blogging work hand-in-hand—consulting seemed like the perfect mix. I offer both blog and legal consulting, and I love every minute of it.

Victoria McGinley reached out to me about her and Meg Biram’sidea to start The B Bar, and asked if I would be interested in writing the legal e-book, and of course, I jumped at the opportunity. After the five-minute happy dance, I panicked. I had no idea where to start or what an e-book even looked like, and the idea of writing a book seemed as daunting as ever. 

My dad, who is an amazing attorney and has taught me so much, was a big help on that one, and once I had the book written, it felt like such a major accomplishment. I truly hope that creatives and bloggers alike can take away a ton of great advice from the e-book. I know the legal ins and outs of the Internet can seem daunting, to say the least, but I wrote the e-book with the creative entrepreneur in mind, and was careful to keep the ideas simple and chock full of examples.

Thank you! And oh goodness—I’m not even sure I’m qualified to give that kind of advice. Half the time I still feel like a total mess. But if you’re happy to do it my crazy way, just keep in mind that it’s okay when everything isn’t perfect. I learned to let go pretty quickly. I juggle and try to do it all, but in the end, Scarlett and my husband, come first. With that priority in mind, work unbelievably hard, attempt balance and give yourself credit for all that you’ve accomplished (daily, if possible). Also, laundry will pile up—give it the cold shoulder, at least until the weekend.

The best advice I can give is a combination of things: Work hard (harder than you can imagine). Be your own biggest supporter and then surround yourself with a great support system. Try not to compare yourself to others, but if you do, use it as fuel to make your purpose that much better. Trust yourself, and know that even if what you think may work for you isn’t conventional, that’s okay. I never thought I would be a half-lawyer/half-blogger, but it totally works for me. Be kind. Wear tutus.

I wish I had thought more about the debt. I went to a private law school and the debt is sometimes (strike that; always) overwhelming. I sometimes worry that I could have blogged full-time without ever having stepped inside a law school or taking the bar exam, but truth is, I wouldn’t be the person I am today. I wouldn’t offer the experience and knowledge I have today without it.

I also wouldn’t be as tough as I am today without it. My husband sometimes laughs at how brazen I can be in blogging—I ask for what I want and move on to the next thing when it isn’t the right fit. Law has made me so much more business savvy. I am my own boss as a blogger, and being a lawyer has given me the courage and know-how to be the very best boss I can be for my business.

That’s easy. Scarlett’s sweet little face. She makes it all worthwhile. As for my career, the sky’s the limit. I want it all. In just a few short months when my husband matches for residency, there’s a pretty good chance we’ll be moving our little family to who-knows-where (fingers crossed for a big city). My hope is we wind up somewhere where that can really help my blog and consulting business grow, but the beauty of blogging is that I can work from practically anywhere. I’d also like to write books (plural, because it’s good to set your goals high!)