In high school, I discovered myself. I was interested in race

Hear the words of Constance Baker Motley, a daughter of Harlem who rose to become the first Black woman to serve as a federal judge: “In high school, I discovered myself. I was interested in race relations and the legal profession. I read about Lincoln and that he believed the law to be the most difficult of professions.” These words shine like a torch handed from one generation to the next, revealing the journey of a young mind awakening to purpose, and the burden she chose to bear in the service of justice.

When Motley speaks of discovering herself, she does not mean a fleeting fancy, but the recognition of her calling. In the furnace of adolescence, while others sought amusement or fleeting desires, she turned her gaze to the great struggles of her people—race relations—and to the noble, arduous craft of the legal profession. To discover oneself in youth is a gift rare and precious, for it arms the heart with direction and steels the will for the trials ahead.

Her reading of Lincoln deepened this discovery. Lincoln, the Great Emancipator, himself wrestled with the law, calling it the “most difficult of professions.” For in the law lies not only argument but the fate of men and nations. To wield it requires clarity, courage, patience, and an unwavering devotion to truth. Lincoln’s struggles with law became Motley’s inspiration, for she saw that the path of justice is never easy, but always necessary. To choose it is to embrace labor and sacrifice in pursuit of freedom.

Motley’s words cannot be understood apart from her life. As a lawyer for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, she stood beside Thurgood Marshall and fought the battle of Brown v. Board of Education, where the Supreme Court struck down segregation in schools. What she glimpsed in high school became the purpose of her life: to use the law as a weapon against oppression and a shield for the downtrodden. Her discovery of self bore fruit not only for her, but for generations of children who would walk through school doors once barred to them.

The meaning of her reflection is twofold. First, that the law, though difficult, is the great instrument of societal change. It shapes the boundaries of freedom, defines the rights of the weak, and restrains the power of the mighty. Second, that one’s passion for justice may begin in youth, in the small stirrings of curiosity, in the reading of books, in the discovery of heroes who walked before us. To heed those stirrings is to set one’s feet upon a road that leads to purpose.

History reminds us again in the story of Gandhi, who likewise began as a young lawyer and discovered in the law not only the defense of clients, but the possibility of liberating his people. Both Gandhi and Motley show us that while the law is “the most difficult of professions,” it can also be the most transformative, for it gives voice to those who have been silenced and power to those who have been powerless.

Children of tomorrow, take this lesson into your souls: seek in your youth not only pleasure, but discovery. Read widely, reflect deeply, and listen to the stirrings within that call you toward truth. When you find your calling, do not fear its difficulty, for the most difficult paths are often the most worthy. Whether in the law, in medicine, in teaching, or in humble service, devote yourself to the labor that uplifts humanity.

Thus the wisdom of Constance Baker Motley endures: that to discover oneself early is to find strength for a lifetime, and that the law, though arduous, is a noble path for those who would bend the arc of history toward justice. Let her words inspire you to embrace the challenges before you, and to remember always that greatness is born when passion meets perseverance.