Outlawed

Well, I received official confirmation in the mail today. My resignation application has been granted; I am no longer a lawyer in Ontario.

I surprised myself with my reaction to this particular piece of mail. I thought that I would get all sentimental, second guess my decision, go into a downward emotional spiral, and feel regretful. But honestly, all I felt was relief. I've been working on this resignation application for months - trying to make sure I crossed all my i's and dotted all my t's and filled out all the right forms so that I wouldn't have to pay two years worth of law society fees and malpractice insurance. The letter meant that it was finally done - no more paperwork, no more hoops to jump through; I was free. I breathed a sigh of relief, set the letter aside, and went back to what I had been doing before I collected the mail (writing checks for payments on my student loans, ironically enough).

I made the decision not to practice law in Ontario almost a year ago. Since then, it's simply been a matter of going through the right motions to get to this place. It's nice to have a sense of closure so that I can get on with my life, and one less nagging, administrative detail to take care of.