From an early age, all I could dream of was wearing a gray suit and defending clients in the courtroom. I imagined early mornings spent preparing for cases and late nights piecing together arguments that could make the difference. In all, my life’s goal was to one day have a judge’s chamber at a high court. 

When I arrived at USC, I quickly realized that studying law and preparing for it was not quite what I imagined. I was initially admitted to USC to study political science. I was eager to learn about the systems that govern our society, but I encountered the perspectives of students entering this field of study based on their parents’ legacy. This quickly switched the conversation in class. 

Studying law has defined my call to action — and has quite frankly become my entire personality: I wake up at 8 a.m. for class and go to sleep at 3 a.m.; I work every weekend and every weekday; while I originally hated coffee, pursuing a juris doctor has made me love it.

Like many pre-law students, I saw joining USC’s Undergraduate Student Government as a path for growth and impact. During my first year, I introduced Know Your Rights Red Cards to the Student Union and the First Generation Plus Success Center. In my second year, I transformed Improving Dream Equity Access and Success into the Undocumented Trojan Success Assembly. The list goes on. 

Needless to say, every year I was devoted to improving student life at the University. I never initially saw myself running for USG president or vice president — it felt out of reach for someone like me. As a first-generation Mexican immigrant, it seemed impossible, and I knew the Sidechat comments would come roaring. 

But when the unexpected opportunity of running for vice president of the 2024-25 senate class arose, I took it as a challenge. Through that experience, I learned valuable lessons of resilience and representation in a political setting.

Competing in a male-dominated environment made me realize that advocacy often requires twice the effort to be seen and valued equally. This reflection is not about discrediting anyone’s success but about sharing the reality of being in places that carry unseen barriers. 

I understood that many women of color, including Latinas in law before me, had faced similar problems. Our competence was doubted not because of our performance but because of the space we occupied.

After the USG election, an accident forced me into stillness: a car hit me soon after the results were announced. The timing was surreal — almost poetic — as a reminder to pause. There were bigger things to worry about. Even then, I continued to show up for USG, though it was hard to face a senate that had often devalued my work.  

Being a pre-law student and a woman of color means understanding that success often requires resilience and that others may never acknowledge your contributions. Every time I walked into the office, I immediately wanted to leave; I felt laughed at. My contributions ranged from opening new student spaces and organizations to resources, yet everything I contributed to USG meant nothing. I felt drained from constantly having to prove myself time and time again. 

I originally thought the student government was the most direct path to my dream of becoming a lawyer and preparing for the courtroom. But somewhere along the way, I realized I was not happy. The constant pressure of proving myself and the politics of recognition began to overshadow the reason I entered these spaces in the first place. I knew then that my path to law didn’t have to look like everyone else’s. 

By my second semester, I switched to legal studies, reading and writing to continue to use my legal learning as a tool to dismantle the same barriers I faced. What once began as a dream of wearing a gray suit evolved into something greater: a mission to open doors that have historically dangled out of reach. 

Studying law has been so fulfilling — a dream turned into reality. Interning with judges and being recognized by the city has been what I have hoped for. But now, it feels exhausting. 

While I found the student government to be a second home, I found my time at the Daily Trojan a safe haven — a place where I was given the opportunity to write a column dedicated to shedding light on the undocumented struggle and experience and where I was able to express my identity and value my contributions to the paper. 

My dedication to uplifting my community through writing about my experiences and observations as a first-generation, immigrant Latina and widening the depth and breadth of the Opinion section has been my pride and joy. 

Now, as an Opinion editor, I am grateful for the experience of managing passionate new and returning writers and ensuring student voices are represented. While studying for the Law School Admission Test has been a real pain, I have found joy in working for DT — a welcome distraction from the long legal journey ahead. 

To pre-law scholars, it’s okay to breathe and not always have to think about law school. Join an extracurricular for you, not just for your resume. 

“Editors’ Epilogue” is a rotating column featuring a different Daily Trojan editor in each installment writing about their personal experiences. Heydy Vasquez is a senior majoring in legal studies and an Opinion editor at the Daily Trojan.