Know-It-All

I'm just going to preface this by giving y'all a little background about myself. I have been in college since I was 16 years old. No I'm not a genius. I am not the next Albert Einstein. I simply got into the dual enrollment program. The reason I did this was mostly because of my mom, but it is also cheaper than going to college after high school. I guess they give some discount to dual enrollment students. Anyways, I have been in the paralegal program for 2-3 years. I've learned quite a lot and have gained some very valuable experience under the program. For example, 2 Expungment Clinics, and a Wills Clinic on top of an Internship. From all of these things, on top of my studies, I have learned quite a lot. Now I'm certainly not an expert but I can say that because of my intentional studies and Clinics, I probably know more than someone who is not a student in the paralegal/law field. And I have gained some skills that are not so easily taught. For example, writing a legal analysis, legal brief, memorandum. How to construct a deed, a will, I can do Inheritance Tax Forms if need be. Now this isn't to toot my own horn. I have had some great professors who have gone above and beyond to teach me. I have a mother who has gone above and beyond to push me and help me excel.

On the other hand, I have talked to some people who are older than me. Now don't get me wrong, it would be foolish to say that older folks don't carry a certain wisdom that comes with age and life experiences. I am well aware that the older generations are very wise and we should look up to them because they have reached a point in their lives that we have not. Meaning that they have lived a lot of more experiences than we have. But, and this is a huge but, I don't necessarily know if that makes them an expert in every single field. For example, I have seen and heard 40-50 year olds try to school a young doctor on what THEY have studied and have made THEIR career. To be a bit clearer, some might say that they know more about medicine, medical practices, the human body, and diseases, etc, more than the doctor who went to school for 8+ years to learn these things. This isn't a dig on the older generations, but it seems kind of crazy to say that you have more expertise in a field that you have never studied compared to the person who has, simply because you're older than them.

I have experienced this kind of behavior myself. Again, I'm not a genius, but I would hope that I know what I'm talking about when it comes to the legal profession and studies because I've been a student for that specific program for the past 4 years. This isn't me saying that I know everything and am so much smarter than everyone else. This is me simply stating that because of my studies and efforts, I have become proficient in the area that I am hoping to make a career out of, more than the average person. Even if you're 30, 40, 50, 60 years old-if you did not study it or work in it, you are not an expert. And that's okay. When I become 40 or 50 years old, I will certainly not tell a 30 year old doctor that I know more than them in their field, because I've never studied it. I've never gone to school for it. I've never had a job in it. So I'm not going to sit here and act like I know more than the doctor simply because I'm older than them. And even now as a 20 year old. If an 11 year old has been playing the violin for all their life, I'm not going to say I know more than them about the violin because I've never played it. It doesn't matter that I am older than them. I really hope that this doesn't hurt feelings but I feel the need to say these things because I, along with many others have accomplished some pretty cool things only to be undermined. It's not a cool look and is very unprofessional given certain circumstances.

That's the end of my TED talk if that's what you want to call it. Hopefully this garners some understanding between the older and younger generations. You know I've heard older generations say that they want their offspring and younger generations to succeed them. Now that we actually are, it's almost like a competition for who has done better in life. Very confusing times.