“You can create your own lanes, just as I am.”
Kim Kardashian announced last week thats she’s studying to become a lawyer – and people had a lot say about it.
The reality star told Vogue that she started a four-year internship with a law firm last year and plans to take the bar exam in 2022.
Lots of the reaction to the news was negative, with many mocking her ambition.
Today Kim responded to her critics and explained why she wouldn’t be “staying in her lane”.
“I’ve seen some comments from people who are saying it’s my privilege or my money that got me here, but that’s not the case. One person actually said I should ‘stay in my lane.’ I want people to understand that there is nothing that should limit your pursuit of your dreams, and the accomplishment of new goals.
“You can create your own lanes, just as I am. The state bar doesn’t care who you are. Everyone can take this route if you live in a state where this is allowed.
“For anyone assuming this is the easy way out, it’s not. My weekends are spent away from my kids while I read and study. I work all day, put my kids to bed and spend my nights studying.
“There are times I feel overwhelmed and when I feel like I can’t do it but I get the pep talks I need from the people around me supporting me. I changed my number last year and disconnected from everyone because I have made this strict commitment to follow a dream of mine – It’s never too late to follow your dreams.”
While the notion that Kim’s privilege didn’t give a leg up is questionable – to be able to study at all is simply not an opportunity that everyone gets – we’re glad to see her defend herself.
Of all the things she and her family have been called out for over the years, how could getting an education possibly be worthy of criticism?
Explaining her decision to Vogue, Kim said her involvement in freeing Alice Marie Johnson from prison last year made her realise she needed to be better informed to use her huge influence for good.
“I’m sitting in the Roosevelt Room with, like, a judge who had sentenced criminals and a lot of really powerful people and I just sat there, like, ‘Oh, shit. I need to know more.’
“I just felt like the system could be so different, and I wanted to fight to fix it, and if I knew more, I could do more.”
In a time when lots of us are happy to get behind a cause from a distance but aren’t sure how to help, it’s a powerful example of putting your money where your mouth is.
Her choice also makes the statement that pursuing a goal, no matter how far-fetched it might seem, is worth doing regardless of what people might say.
We should absolutely hold our celebrities up for scrutiny, especially ones like the Kardashians who have millions of young eyes watching them.
Kim hasn’t always been the perfect role model but we can’t knock her law ambition just because she’s known as a TV star and makeup entrepreneur.
To admonish her for this sends girls the message that they can only ever be one thing and that they shouldn’t bother stepping outside their comfort zones.
