Lindsey Davis

The Dunham School is a small private school located in the heart of Baton Rouge, La. With fewer than 500 people in high school, everyone knows everything about everyone. It’s a familiar environment where many people just like me discover who they are. I moved around when I was younger before I settled down at Dunham in sixth grade. I was born in Baton Rouge, La., on Dec. 23, 1988. I have decided I was the best Christmas present my parents have ever received. I have an older brother, who probably didn’t agree with this theory. But with time he has learned to share my parents’ attention with my younger brother and me. I lived in Columbia, S.C., and Ruston, La., before relocating to Baton Rouge. When I entered Dunham, I instantly became a part of the close knit family, and this has forever changed me. I had close relationships with everyone, including my teachers. Having your teachers’ numbers programmed into your cell phone may seem odd to some people, but in the “Dunham Bubble” it is considered normal. I learned many things about life in my ten years at this school.

Many people have influenced me in my life. I have had the same group of friends since the sixth grade. There are seven of us, and we are all very different from one another. We’re artsy, sporty, smart and hardworking, and sometimes a little crazy. We stay out of trouble for the most part, and we always have one another’s back if anything happens. We were friends with everyone in our high school, but we share a special bond with one another.

My family have also been a major influence in my life. My parents and brothers are really important to me, and I don’t know what I would do without them. They have taught me how to be the person I am today. My teachers at Dunham have played a huge role in my life as well. Although I didn’t get along with them all the time, they have taught me many things I couldn’t have learned elsewhere. They helped me figure out what I want to do in my life, and how I will accomplish these things.

I was sitting in my English class at the end of my senior year when my teacher asked us what we wanted to do with our life. I thought to myself and realized I had no idea what I wanted to do. I thought I was too young to consider plans that seemed so far in the future. But to my surprise, all my colleagues in the class already knew what they wanted to do. When it was my turn to answer, I told the class I didn’t know or care to think about it. My teacher was frustrated, and she told me to think about what interests me. “I like art, but I don’t want that to be my profession,” I said. I want art to be my hobby, not something I have to do every day. I liked sports a lot too. But my dad works with professional athletes, and my brother coaches baseball at LSU. I decided I didn’t want to do the same thing. I was very indecisive, but I was also disturbed at the thought of being the only person with no future plans. I thought I would never be able to decide.

I graduated from Dunham in May of 2007 with plans to go to LSU. I still had no idea what I wanted to do. I chose to major in business and thought I would narrow things down as time went on. On the first day of freshman orientation, I was with the business group, and I realized I hated everything they were telling me about it. Math happens to be my least favorite subject, and that subject is vital to the study of business. I knew at this point that being a businesswoman was not for me. My favorite subjects are history and English, but I knew no career options that both used these and interested me. After having a very stressful day, I decided to watch Laws of Attraction. It’s about two of the best divorce lawyers going against each other in a case. In the end they fall in love. In the middle of the movie a light bulb went off. I wanted to be a divorce lawyer. I love to argue, and people say I am strong-willed. I want to be someone important that can help other people. I figured that there was no better way to help people than to defend them in their time of need. I immediately called my dad to tell him my plan. He was thrilled and advised me to major in public relations because I was enjoying my mass communication classes. This could lead to law school and a future as a lawyer.