MEET: Laura

Interview of Laura Bass by Amanda Attanayake 

Hi Laura, how are you going?

I’m doing great thank you!

What are you up to this year?

I’m doing a double degree of Law and Arts at La Trobe.

What made you want to study law?

Ever since I was a kid, my family has been telling me that I need to be a lawyer because I’m so good at arguing, that I may as well make money from it (unfortunately I can’t argue with that)! It’s worth mentioning though that for me, money has never been my motivation for studying law. I’ve always wanted to get into human rights law, because I think it would allow me to really make a difference—it’s something I know I’ll always be passionate about and never get bored with.

You completed year 12 last year. What did you learn?

The most important thing I learnt is that Year 12 is not life or death, as it’s often made out to be. Always put your health and wellbeing first, because you need those things intact when you graduate! Year 12 is not worth having a mental breakdown over, and, although at times it’s hard to keep it in perspective, try to. Talk to people—especially your friends and classmates. Let them know what you’re going through because (trust me!) they’re going through the same thing. Lastly, help each other. I really resent that a lot of schools encourage approaching VCE like a competition–I know it’s a ranking, but hear me out–wherever you can, do group study, test each other, study together. You don’t have to go it alone.

What do you wish they taught you at high school?

The importance of self-love and self-care.

Anything else you want to add?

I think we, as millennials, get a lot of bad press, but given that the older generations have somewhat failed us through their lack of courage in tackling the big issues (like gender inequality, the environment, institutionalised racism, asylum seekers), it’s up to us to change the things that we aren’t happy with—and that will always be motivation enough for me.