My son's motivation

My son Ricky has been motivated by his goal of going to law school since the the beginning of the summer break. He first made the decision of pursuing major in English and minor in Philosophy, both would help him become a great law school student. Then, per my suggestion, he started studying and practicing 5 pages of Kaplan LSAT reference book every day. The total pages of this book are 1,000 and so far, he has finished almost 200 pages. According to his schedule, he will complete it thoroughly by the end of February in 2017 at the latest. Before taking LSAT in October, he will have 7 months to intensively improve his testing skills. His targeted score is 170 and I am confident in him. Meanwhile, he has been working out four hours everyday because he realizes that a strong body will ensure him to be energized to achieve his goal. 

Checking out top 50 law schools, I outlined the targets for him:

No. 1 target: Yale. It's very difficult for him to be admitted but you never know, he will apply it anyway. A JD from Yale will almost guarantee his success in future. 

No. 2 target: Duke. He may have 30% chance to be admitted and I really hope he can enroll their program. A JD from Duke may bring him into a big law firm in East Coast after graduation immediately. 

No. 3 target: Georgetown. He has a big chance to be admitted and he really wants to go there because he seems very interested in the circle in DC. A JD from Georgetown will send him into Washington politics at young ages.

No. 4 target: University of Washington. It's his alma mater and has the most economic value for him. Though its law school ranks much lower than Georgetown, due to its domination and popularity in Northwest and its competitiveness amongst Washington State residents, it may be even more difficult to be admitted. A JD from Washington will help him become a rising political star from his home State and keep his personal life to be easier. 

No. 5 target: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He should be able to get this one as a Out-of-state applicant. A JD from UNC should help him start building his political career in that State. The reason I recommend him to go there other than other States is that his maternal uncle's family is there, so he will have an extended family there if he can't live in Washington State any more. 

He has been watching both Parties' National Conventions enthusiastically and paying attention to Clinton and Trump with full interests. He seems very serious in pursuing a public servant's career eventually. I hope Mr. Ricky He will become Secretary of State one day since he won't be qualified of being elected as President. 

During the lunch today, I recommended him a plan of 3 main focus in his last two years of undergraduate studies:

• Awarded a Bachelor of Arts in English/Philosophy in May, 2018 with GPA of 3.5;
• Score 170 of LSAT in October, 2017;
• Build up athletic body by keeping intensive workout everyday. 

In addition, he should take care of other two things in his life if possible:

• Attend more social activities to enrich public experiences;
• Find a girlfriend who really fits into his life. 

Let's see how he will do, I am very interested in observing his progresses. However, supporting his goal of going to law school is not to expect him to make big bucks but earn all academic credentials in his 20s. I don't really mind if he will only make 50K as a public servant after graduating a JD at Yale. 

Patrick's Diary - 7/13/2016

Counting the days away from this long weekend,
Booking the room prior to my fiftieth birthday.
Planning a night right before heading to Ashland,
Targeting a hotel in Bend to check in on Friday.
Thinking about to appreciate the ocean again,
Changing mind to switch to east of Interstate,
Going to Oregon Coast once a year for real fun,
Shifting to inland mountains this July to dance.
Receiving notifications for Centennial four times,
Selecting second to the last show on Sunday night.
Expecting to be back before its kickoff by hours,
Hoping to catch more in this spectacular event.
Reading a tweet to learn Sounders at Centurylink,
Enjoying five goals to beat Dallas during the week.

Patrick's Diary - 7/12/2016

Leaving the office three hours after twelve o'clock,
Approaching the dealership twenty minutes to five.
Missing the entrance so much by almost one mile,
Taking a U-turn in time before at the service desk.
In the exhibition room awaiting technician to check,
In the show sections observing new models to shine,

At the coffee ATM making two cups of vanilla latte,
Outside the sliding door finding my wagon to hook.
Free car wash being a lifetime wonderful benefit,
Headlight replacement being one time at no charge,

Regular maintenance to be taken care of by Dennis.
Four hours workout becoming my son's daily event,
Five pages review becoming everyday LSAT routine,
One Hundred Seventy to send him to top twenties.

Patrick's Diary - 7/11/2016

Reading piece of downgrade on Twitter before heading out,

Sensing sort of resistance on Wall Street after thinking over.

Pleased with Zillow to seek a way everyday to be dominant,

Surprised by Gopro to keep it up every hour to be better.

Benefiting from Margaret Wang's business year by year,

Getting insurance transferred to Mazda Minivan easily.

Impressed by Jim Fisher's responsiveness at the dealer,

Arranged a service for a broken light at front efficiently.

Talking to my son again about his plan comprehensively,

Listening to his complaint on my comments in silence. 

Convinced by projections he formulated meticulously,

Worried about margin of error on top schools so tense. 

Taking many irrelevant but harsh classes past two years,

Getting valuable but deflated GPA only near three points. 

Patrick's Diary - 7/10/2016

Expecting French to raise Euro Cup 2016 at home,
Witnessing Portugueses to win UEFA Champ in Paris.
Ronaldo leaving the field still laughing in France,
Griezmann staying in match but seeming as homeless.

Ricky to set out his journey of pursuing Juris Doctor,
Patrick to work out his plan of painting colors of seven.
Sunday to start with Red to represent an Ivy Leaguer,
Monday to bring in Orange to resemble one of Big Ten.
Tuesday to approach Gold to simulate U of California,
Wednesday to adopt Green to catch Baylor in Waco
Thursday to embrace Black to absorb U of Georgia,
Friday to draw Blue to dye Buffalo in Colorado. 
The weekend kicked off with Purple of Washington, 
The Letters written by President Obama and Clinton. 

Patrick's Diary - 7/9/2016

Listening the raindrops out of the window through the night,
Witnessing the clouds beyond the highway in the morning.
Working out at LA Fitness before driving my dad to market,
Heading to Discovery Park after taking my son for shopping. 
Living in Seattle for two decades but having never been there, 
Hearing its name and Learning its Beauty though frequently.
Disappointing on son for ten minutes still loving being here,
Enjoying its beach and appreciating its trail even exhaustedly. 

Marching through the Westlake to see a dozen naked lovers,
Stopping by Old Country Buffet to have a late heavy meal,
Coming back home to take a nap for more than two hours,
Checking on Sounders to learn a loss by a sour rival's goal.

Cooking Lasagna bought at Costco to settle with the hunger
Watching Entourage replayed on HBO to laugh at the humor. 

Patrick's Diary - 7/8/2016

On Friday Morning close Bothell traffic being loose,
At 70th Street near Kirkland accident being ugly.

After 8th Street in Bellevue road opened wide.
Before Exit 3 by Renton sky still painted cloudy.
The last working day of the week supposedly light,
The busy schedules of businesses absolutely full.
The multiple meetings in finance definitely important,
The congrats at Cheesecake factory dominantly critical.

 

Enjoying the conversations through the relaxed lunch,
Appreciating the discussions during a serious review.
Taking a break near the parking lot by sitting on a bench,
Going home on I-405 North while catching a lake view. 
Flattering summer's sunshine having been fantastic,
Celebrating my fiftieth milestone even more majestic. 

Patrick's Diary - 7/7/2016

Missing the first semi-final kicked yesterday,
Ronaldo and Nani helping Portugal to advance.
Catching highlights of the second match today,
Griezmann giving France a push to excellence.  

Roland coming to our house to fix the range,
Trusting him a handy guy for a dozen years.
Chris climbing to our roof to clean the waste,
Learning him a skillful expert in last two days. 
Larry marketing his house after several others,
Joanne becoming the new seller to join the club.
Buying my house the same year similar to theirs,
Riding the wave of appreciation even in suburb. 
Loving this neighborhood so are Mom and Dad,
Moving nowhere unless Son at Law of Harvard.

Patrick's Diary - 7/6/2016

Being first time for a while on a working day,
Staying home after Sun way up the horizon,
Heading to Everett instead of office in Renton,
Seeing an used car waiting at Mazda already. 
Observing many ones in the lots parked neatly,
Noticing the van licensed a plate in Washington,
Learning a 09 model with 55K miles sport wagon,
Spending 10 grams the best option picked easily.
Appreciating salesman being warm & professional,
Going through the process without a problem,
Relying on Dennis' connection and suggestion.

Driving wonderful Mazda-5 on my way as personal,
Making 200K more miles on it another long term,
Driving it into hopeful future with fully affection. 

Patrick's Diary - 7/5/2016

Driving Explorer Pickup Dennis lent to me,
Wondering how come back window missing. 
Learning this oddity when the day passing,
Rolling it down accidentally when hand free.
Reading news online of groping even rape,
Worrying if the teen in Karlstad camping,
Learning more assaults made in Norrkoping,
Questioning why so many rages and intense. 
Impressed by the quietness along the station,
Led to a plan of hanging days after retirement,
Shocked by these disgusting behaviors angrily.

Motivated by a great memory of fascination,
Drawn by breeze in last summer to the concert,
Ensured by Lord the garden forever peacefully. 

Patrick's Diary - 7/4/2016

On the field at Lynnwood High practicing soccer,
At the gym in Canyon Business Park lifting weight.
Grabbing a dozen fresh tomatoes at Fred Meyer,
Snatching a power steering fluid from Napa Part.
Instabilities at Middle East shaking the world,
Witnessing the disasters on CNN full of sadness.
Safeties over the Nation concerning the homeland,
Catching the impression on faces with wariness.
On LSAT Prep Book reading the introduction,
At my son's bedroom suggesting him a study plan.
On HBO Entertainment rewatching an imagination,

In living room on big screen enjoying a lot of fun.

Neighbors still shooting up fireworks into the sky,
Americans cheering up for a joyful Fourth of July.

Patrick's Diary - 7/3/2016

French melting Icelanders' fairy tale,
Soccer becoming a spirit in Reykjavik.

Assessed son's desire for what to take,
Received books ordered in last week.
To apply Yale the top school of law,
Though the accepted chance to be slim.
To continue his pursuit of JD at UW,
But going to Georgetown to be a charm.

To Take LSAT in the winter of senior year,
To practice the questions within quarters.
To excel in his Bachelor of English Major,
To understand Shakespeare's complete works.
Driving Dennis' pickup to Regal in Everett,
Arguing The Legend of Tarzans recent best.

Patrick's Diary - 7/2/2016

On my way to the gym facing the dimmed universe,
At the corner of the intersection viewing the quiet road.
At McDonald's having big breakfast with hot cake,
In LA Fitness jogging half an hour before weight load.

Germans and Italians both walking into the field,
Fans witnessing the former getting over the latter,
Hector Sending horsepowers to the next round,
After falling of Muller, Ozil and Schweinsteiger.

Crossing fingers to hope Sounders' doing better,
Reviewing the list to count Rival's missing stars.
Taking a rest Dempsey not going as a leader,
Making a draw via an amazing curl by Morris. 

Watching the movie of The Intern to be the next,

Enjoying the 3rd time of Furious 7 to end the night. 

Patrick's Diary - 7/1/2016

In the morning before Fourth of July long weekend,
On the freeway after most commuters taking break,
Weather repeating same pattern as in past week,
Coming home to worship Apollo on top of the road. 
On no channels soccer or politics being broadcasted,
Catching a traveling show on CNN never paying a look,
Scottish cuisine in Glasgow only learned from a book,
Planning a trip in next summer to wonderful Scotland.

In the last four years driving in Germany twice,
In addition to several road trips in 20th century,
Never knowing beers in Dusseldorf being better.
As teen learning a perfume originated from Cologne,
Just being told Italian foods also popular in this city,
Having a big bowl of spaghetti next time as a hunger.

Patrick's Diary - 6/30/2016

Clouds fully covering the sky at brunch,
Would Apollo show his face to earth?
Sunshine bringing the blue before lunch,
Could this perfection be present on Fourth?
An elementary buddy texting me on wechat,
He and three others coming to our lands.
To pick them up end of July at Seatac Airport,
Climbing Space Needle then eating gourmets.
Listening to the debates on Trump on CNN,
Heading to the gym to jog on treadmill.
Coming back home to watch replay on ESPN,
Viewing Portugueses over Poles on PK skill. 

Would tomorrow be another typical Friday?
Crossing fingers for a magnificent Monday!