Rachel Sojourner Dickerson, Esq.

Fashion Strategist

The first day of law school, I walked into the building scared to death. Imposter syndrome met me at the door. Imposter syndrome—“IS”—became one of my closet friends 1L year. 

Wherever I went, IS was right there. I entered law school with an imaginary weight on my shoulders. I was a black girl. I was the first in my family to successfully make it into law school. I did not want to go to law school. I wanted to pursue a career in fashion. However, I betrayed myself and went to law school.

 How did this happen?  My law school attendance results from a simple fact—a family truth. My father wanted to be a lawyer but was called to be a preacher. 

It seems that in most African American homes, many unfulfilled dreams can be forced upon the youngest child as a means of progressing the entire family forward. Why, you ask? To play catch up, to achieve generational wealth, in a race that has been rigged against us since day one. The weight is an insurmountable burden, but I write no victim essay.

There were many reasons for me to have imposter syndrome. Among them: I had to fight to get my best LSAT score to get into law school. Don’t even get me started about the LSAT . . . .

Regardless, I walked into my classes on Day One feeling like I didn’t belong and didn’t deserve to be there. I felt someone was going to tap me on the shoulder and tell me: “We need to see you in the office. Your acceptance was a mistake.”

My entire first year, IS was with me in the library, my study groups, my quiet time, my workout time, etc. It ate my ass alive. I barely made it through my 1L exams. 

That summer, I wondered if I could do it. Would I be able to graduate? Would I be able to find a job? What if I let my family down? What future would I have? 

Somehow, I mustered up the strength to come back 2L year and I made the dean’s list that next semester. Even though I didn’t want to be in law school and I didn’t want to be a lawyer, I wanted to prove I could do it. 

Law school taught me I can do anything I put my mind to, when my mind is confident. The difference between 1L year and 2L year for me was the fact that I learned to give myself grace, and I took the pressure off myself. 

Today, I am a fashion stylist. Hilarious, right? However, the only reason I have succeeded as much as I have in fashion is because of what law school taught me. I leave IS in my prayers at night. Can I get an amen? 

As lawyers, we will make it through any task, weather any storm, generate any complex solutions to problems because law school teaches us to CONFIDENTLY use our STRATEGIC mindset to achieve our goals. So—and I say this specifically to law students reading this—know that, because you made it into law school, you are more than capable. That’s the easy part. 

The key to confidence, however, is a regulated nervous system. Work on regulating your nervous system is not easy. But if you are successful in learning that self-regulation, when hard moments come, you will be able make it through them a little easier. A few things that helped me regulate my nervous system include: developing grace for myself, engaging in consistent therapy, learning and practicing deep belly breathing, working out at the gym, contributing in study groups, talking to my professors when I needed extra help, and more. 

Doing these things will allow your strengths and creativity to flow not only in class or when you are studying, but also as you navigate your life outside law school. When you have to make really tough decisions, as life calls us to do, you will be ready to maneuver with grace and clarity. 

Go confidently and seek every dream that’s yours!