My kids came first. At 50, I finally went to law school.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Nancy Vinsel, a retired lawyer in Florida.

Business Insider has verified her identity and background.

This story has been edited for length and clarity.

I got married after my sophomore year of college, and my husband and I started having children early.

I left school when my first was born, and went back part-time after my second, but I stopped again because juggling school and two kids was too hard.

I didn’t finish college until my youngest was in third grade.

I attended the University of Louisville and earned my undergraduate degree in history.

I’d always wanted to be a librarian or a lawyer.

I worked as a librarian and a book vendor while earning a master’s degree in library science from the University of Kentucky.

I considered going to law school, but it would take too long, and both of my kids were in their prime years.

Later, when I thought I was ready to apply to law school, I conducted informational interviews with a few lawyers, all of whom told me they hated their jobs.

This convinced me that I should first get experience working in a law firm, so I went back to the University of Louisville and got an associate degree in paralegal studies.

After graduation, I was hired as a paralegal by one of my instructors, though I ended up doing the work of an associate attorney.

That was fine for a while, because I wanted to get experience, and I loved writing complaints.

But one day, I looked at my salary and thought, “This is crazy.

I need to be rewarded for the work I’m doing.” That’s when I decided to go to law school.

I applied to two law schools, and I got into both.

At a student open house for one of them, a school official told me that one of the professors thought I was a parent and was annoyed that I was participating.

I realized I wasn’t going to fit in here.

Most students were right out of college.

Since I knew the other school, the University of Louisville, had a tradition of serving adults, I went there.

While a student, I interned at the Kentucky Public Service Commission, a utilities regulator, and worked as a law clerk at two law firms.

Throughout this time, I was fortunate to have my husband’s support.

He took over nearly every household duty and even built a shelf for my treadmill so I could read cases while I exercised.

After graduation, I passed the bar in Kentucky on my first try.

I then got a job at a small law firm doing employment-related litigation and stayed for a few years before striking out on my own.

I named my practice Vinsel Law, and it had three parts: finding clients, managing the firm, and practicing law.

I ended up hating it because I didn’t have the time to give my all to each part.

Eventually, though, I qualified as a staff attorney at the state agency where I had interned.

I loved working there, and when a job opened up, I applied and got it.

Within a few years, I worked my way up to assistant general counsel and, finally, to general counsel.

I specialized in utility law, a highly technical field that takes several years to master.

Literally, every day you’re presented with something unique.

After about 10 years at the Commission, I decided it was time to retire.

I’d created systems that would live beyond me.

It took me about seven months to get used to not working.

I still like to stay on top of utility law, and I keep in touch with my former work besties.

Talking to people considering law as a second career has become my schtick.

I tell them that law school is competitive, but when I went, I made a point of only competing with myself.