Don’t Panic – Things Are Rarely As Bad As They Seem

I remember my first visit to California. I was interviewing for a 2L summer position. I knew from the minute I arrived that this place was for me. Coming from New York, it instantly felt like I was on vacation when I got off the plane at LAX. I try to remind myself of that feeling over 30 years later when I complain about the airport!

Things got even better when I got to the hotel—the Ritz-Carlton in Marina del Rey. It had to be the most beautiful place I had ever seen to that point in my life. I love going back there even now.

I had several days of interviews lined up starting the next morning. After dinner overlooking the ocean, I drifted off to sleep knowing I had a car picking me up the next morning at 8 a.m. Life was good.

I woke the next morning, glanced at my watch, and FREAKED OUT. It was 8:18. I would never make it to my interview in time. I jumped out of bed and was trying to do three things at once: take a shower, anticipate how I would explain this to the firm that was paying for this trip, and call down to the front desk to make sure the car didn’t leave without me.

I asked them how long it would take to get to downtown LA in the legendary LA traffic. I told them I had to be there for an interview at 9.

The man on the other end of the phone laughed and said, “You’ve got plenty of time—it’s only 5:30.” I had forgotten to set my watch back. I felt both foolish and incredibly relieved at the same time.

Lesson learned: Don’t panic—things are rarely as bad as they seem. Even if it had been three hours later, things would have worked out okay. And either way, it would have (eventually) resulted in a pretty good story to tell!

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