Oneda Leknikaj

Life happens while wishing for a future. This quote sums up the story of a little dreamer in Albania who wished her path away, having to first stop in Germany, trying to fulfill her parent’s dream and realize that her choices could have been different; going to Italy and understanding that a happy person listens to the heart; and when she thought she already saw it all, life brought her to America, to follow the famous dream.

Growing up in Albania might be hard to imagine compared to the development of the U.S.A and the power of law, given that the improvement of my country still needs some time and a lot of effort. My dreamer side always saw places with the eyes of the mind and made them beautiful, so beautiful. But when I went to Germany to study medicine, I silenced my dreamer side to listen to my parents, who thought that a good student like me had to be a doctor. After struggling for two years of trying to fight a war that felt not mine, I decided to quit my parents’ dream to go for my own. 

Therefore, I won a scholarship in Florence, Italy to study law. All of a sudden, life takes a turn and everything starts making sense. I found myself in the middle of thousands of students from all over the world and I felt lucky, so lucky to get to share my part of the story with them. Studying law seemed as something I always wanted to do, a revealed secret full of joy. I studied law in Florence for almost two years, until one day, everything changed. My mother won the Green Card lottery, and all of a sudden I had to give up on what I had built with much love and perseverance in Florence so I could come to New York.
Despite the changes that I saw in different countries I never doubted the power that law has on ruling a country and putting justice where injustice tends to rule.
 Being able to start college made me gain my lost trust in justice from my country and believe in what is fair in life. Speaking Albanian, Italian, English, German, and some comprehensive French or Spanish helped me make so many friends from different cultures and feel their stories. If one day I manage to be a lawyer, I know that my diversity and experiences in life will help me better understand other people’s stories and fight for their rights. We are all part of the same globe, despite our color, nation, gender or status. Empathy and love makes us better versions of ourselves and that is what I see in myself as a lawyer; empathy for the people and love for justice. 

When I first moved to Florence, I was lots of times bullied with the supposed contrast of my love for fashion and my eagerness to become a lawyer. Hearing people say “Blondie with a brain,” “Lawyer with an accent,” “Fashion wears the color of law,” or having to convince the professors that being blonde (even though a bleached one) and wearing pink does not make me less smart or interested in becoming a lawyer. It was there that I learned to believe in myself, even when other people tried to convince me not to, and study hard on becoming the blonde with an accent lawyer. For life belongs to those who dare to prove themselves right instead of proving other people wrong. 
Life is unfair sometimes but the law should not be as we are equal to the eyes of justice. My love for what is just makes me work hard on building a strong character and confidence that a lawyer must have.