The Clinical Legal Education Program has been an eye-opener for me.

On the one hand, my

insecurities and doubts about my ability to become a lawyer surfaced again. On the other hand, it
ignited a fire within me and gave me a sense of purpose.

Effective communication skills, both in oral and written form, are essential to becoming an
effective lawyer. Without it, a lawyer could not give a proper legal advice to a client or win a case for
them. One of the reasons I entered law school was to hone and increase my aptitude for oral and
written communication. Because of the subject, I was appalled to realize that I am still severely lacking in
this area even after three years in law school. I am still shy and awkward when talking to people,
especially those whom I do not know or with whom I am not close. This posed a challenge for me when
looking for community partners. I could have asked my coworkers for assistance since they are regularly
in contact with some of the officers in the barangays of the city because of our work. However, I was too
shy to ask them, and I don’t want to impose on them. I also thought about going to the barangay hall in
the barangay where I am a resident, but the thought of meeting and talking to strangers dissuaded me
from pursuing the idea. In the end, I only relied on my group mates.

When making my presentation and explaining my topic, I found it hard to explain the topic in
simple terms. I also had a hard time deciding how to go about designing the flow of the presentation of
the topic. I was embarrassed and disheartened when I heard some of the participants grumble that they
did not understand my discussion. I was so nervous and afraid during our open forum, even when I
studied the topic over and over again. I knew the answers and legal provisions to some of the questions
the participants asked, but I remained silent and let my team members or our supervising lawyer answer
them. Because of this, I realized that it was pointless, even if I knew the law and legal principles. I am
only idly standing on the sidelines, incapable of sharing this knowledge to help my fellowmen or my
community, because I am too shy and afraid to speak up. As a result, I began to doubt myself even
more, believing that I was wasting my time in law school and that I was not truly qualified to practice
law.

Notwithstanding having these negative thoughts, a part of me refused to give up my dream of

becoming a lawyer. After the implementation, the participants expressed their gratitude and delight
about the program. They were happy that they had learned something from the discussions and from
the open forum. They even suggested other topics that they hoped the team or another batch of law
students would be able to discuss in the future. When I heard their feedback, I was very happy and
grateful for the experience. I want to do the program again even though I am shy, awkward, and
nervous when I talk to a group of people or present a topic to strangers. I believe that with enough
practice and experience, I will be able to improve how I explain legal provision in simple terms. I was
motivated to do well in my studies and learn as much as I could. I was hoping that I could increase my
self-confidence by being prepared and knowledgeable. I also remembered that one of the reasons I
entered law school was to help protect the citizens against abuse and corruption as an advocate of the
law. Hence, I may feel incompetent and useless now, but I will utilize hard work and willpower to propel
me toward achieving my dream.