Jodi Kantor

My parents are very supportive, but I think they were mystified.

My dad, I think, is a kind of economic rationalist where he's like, you should earn as much money as you are capable of earning.

And the idea that I was taking my earning power, which, you know, sky's the limit, first year at Harvard Law School, who knows, you could be that person who makes $20 million a year.

And I was like shrinking it and shrinking it and shrinking it into this tiny little box of

of not even journalism, but like the uncertainty of like maybe getting a job as a fact checker somewhere.

I think that was really hard for him to take.

And then I think for both young people and parents, it's a little like, what do I tell my friends, right?

There's something a little bit embarrassing about,

But I have to say that they ultimately trusted me.

You said that dropping out was the moment you became the author of your own life.

Was that scary?

Did you feel empowered or were you nervous or both?

Both.

I remember when I made the decision, I had like a day where I couldn't stop crying, like not crying here and crying there, like 24 hours of continuous sobbing because I just was like, oh boy, like this is going to be so hard.

And, you know, the neat, clear track of law school versus the total uncertainty of trying to become a

I think there was a twinge of I might get to actually do all day like what I really want to do and I'm going to try.

That felt really great.

Reminding me of a scene in the movie As Good As It Gets when Greg Kinnear is talking to Jack Nicholson's character about falling in love, even though at the time he feels it's unrequited.

And he says, don't you realize how amazing it is?

You know who you love.