Becoming Bryan Stevenson

I woke up the next morning with a broken heart. I knew that Mr. Dill is no longer with us and that made me want to throw down my papers and quit. What is the point of all this work, I thought to myself. I have put so much time into my work but what am I going to accomplish if the justice system I am working in is broken. At my office, I am surrounded by all these devastating cases that I have to work with every single day. I go to work and research and try to help the poor people who need my help but in a broken system how much am I really helping?

No more than 10 minutes later, a young, bright girl calls my phone. She introduces herself as Walter’s granddaughter. She explains how she is beyond grateful for my efforts in releasing her grandfather and how my work has impacted her and everyone around her’s life. Those few minutes that I was on call with her really brought me back to reality. Even though our system is broken and unjust, the work that my team and I do affects my clients, who are forever grateful, and the people of the community who are wishing for a change. I must never forget that that is what I am putting all this work towards, a better future and a bigger change.