A Thought of One's Own

I think everybody has at least one friend who they stay friends with just out of a sense of duty and not because they genuinely like them anymore. As an aspiring lawyer that takes on a new level in many ways because friends aren't just there for fun. Friends can be the key to meeting the right people, having the right connections. So although you're not going to miss them, you might miss their contacts. 


That might seem like a cynical view, but remember that the bar in particular is made up overwhelmingly of Etonian types with plenty of money, and plenty of friends. Getting in there is still about the friends, even if we wish it wasn't. 


Of course, you can do it without, but you don't want to do anything that might make things harder, so you want to do it with. Plus, if you make an enemy or end up with an unpleasant relationship with someone important then that could really screw up your prospects. 


My university has a bar society, and the people that run it are the slimiest one-upping type folk. They ooze trying too hard. They're charming when they need to be, and love to shoulder rub with anyone mildly important. And of course they're hopelessly rude to everyone else. That's not what I wanted law to be like. I had hoped it would be an intellectual environment where everyone was dedicated to their studies and hardworking and everyone would sort of get along because we're all in it together. 


But you're never allowed to forget about class and money.