"It's Still Quite Something to Me."

One of those magical moments when you realize the situation you're in is not mundane, but part of a movement.

We meet with our Criminal law professor twice a week, last class of the day. I've always liked her, she's funny and diplomatic and very instructive on oral advocacy skills. Over the year, I've done spotty research on her, enough to know she's a big woman's rights advocate in Canada. I checked out her webpage and found scores of publications, both books and articles. Also, she's from Northern Ireland, from a large family of girls and over old enough to have one of her former student retire from the bench last month. "How old am I," she wondered aloud one day in class, "when my students are retiring before me?"

Today, while discussing principles of fundamental justice and equality in relation to self-defense, she mentioned that she was one of the first women in the history of the world to get a legal education. "And I always thought it would be wonderful in the 21st Century to have a society where educating girls was just considered normal. It's still quite something to me." Very cool to be a part of that, even cooler to have her as a guide.