Choose to Hope

The same anonymous commenter strikes again, this time with a much more encouraging message:

I am also the person who complimented you on your posts on ATL some time
ago. I did not reach out to you when you asked to know who I was because,
frankly, I want to protect my anonymity. I still do. But for your information, I
am an associate at a large firm in a large city, and I am more than several
years removed from law school. I read ATL most days, and I read your blog when
you post new items. ATL and this blog are the only two non-sports blogs I
read.

Regarding ATL, you took an unfair amount of flak from bitter associates,
but the fact is that you were much better than they cared to admit. Your byline
did not say "David Lat," however, and that was fatal for you. Even as bitter as
I am, I still saw that you were and are a good writer, and frankly, you paved
the way for a lot of folks' acceptance of Kash. Without you, there is no Kash.
You were the sacrificial lamb, unfortunately, but good to see that you survived
your first year of law school.

I also think Kash and David are doing a great job over at ATL, and I learned a lot from that experience.

Just to be clear, I wasn't condemning the first anonymous post. In fact, I thought it was well written and haunting. I'm just not at that jaded part of life yet, so I choose to be more hopeful.

Personally, this past week has been really tough, and this piece of encouragement means a lot to me. Thank you, whoever you are.