'Not everything was about a guy': Influencer Missy Elizalde narrates law school journey from US to PH
Content creator Missy Macuja Elizalde gave her followers a peek into her decision-making process about pursuing her dream of going to law school.
In a Facebook reel, she explained one of the most common questions her followers ask her is why she went to law school in the US before enrolling in another one in the Philippines.
"I always kinda had these distant dreams of becoming a lawyer," she began. Elizalde went to a university in Boston and completed her last semester at her school's campus in Los Angeles. Then the pandemic happened.
While she was hanging out with her then-boyfriend one day, she shared her dream with him.
"He goes, 'Well, why don't you?' And I didn't have an answer for him," said Elizalde, 27.
The moment motivated her to start looking at law schools in the US, believing she would stay in the country with her then-boyfriend. When he got a job in LA, she chose to study in the city instead of applying to a law school in the East Coast. She enrolled in LA's Loyola Law School.
"Loyola made a lot of sense for me for other reasons, as well. Not everything was about a guy," Elizalde said.
"That relationship did not work out. But law school did and I ended up graduating from Loyola Law in May 2024. Shhh. I was young," she added.
Her caption for the reel summed up her thought process then: "Sometimes we’re 21 and making life altering decisions on vibes and that’s okay!"
Although she tried to stay in the US after graduation, things didn't work out after two law firms dropped her.
"I realized that my life would probably be better if I just went home. So I did," she said, admitting the move back home was "baliktad."
"Now I'm back in Philippine law school. And the adventure continues," Elizalde said.
On Instagram, she describes herself as an "ex-ballerina turned martial artist/gymrat, Manila lawyer, and dog mom." Elizalde is the daughter of Ballet Manila Directress Lisa Macuja and business tycoon Fred Elizalde.