Tim Dixon, associate professor of legal studies and history, hopes that most people can say that they are as happy with their lives as he is.
“Everything can’t be perfect,” he said. “If you can’t adjust to that, then you won’t like your life, but that’s not realistic.”
It’s the same adjustment that he teaches his students who plan to go to law school. Dixon said that he tries to be realistic with his legal studies students to get them to understand that the transition from undergraduate school to law school is difficult. He said he hopes he can give them information on what to expect.
“Unfortunately, I’m afraid that some of the students really do get frightened by it,” he said. “But like any new experience, you can be unsettled by it. But all you have to do is think, ‘Hey, look at the thousands of people who are lawyers.’ Most students know at least one lawyer and they’re able to think, ‘Well, you know, I can do that.’ That’s what you have to grab onto. Lots of people do it, so it can’t be impossible. It’s simply recognizing the dedication that you have to have to succeed in law school.”
Dixon said that he enjoys students’ interest, optimism and enthusiasm.
“They’re active and they really have good intentions,” he said. “For the most part, they’re really nice people. They’re interested in each other. They still have the opportunity to have their eyes opened to brand new things. They’re willing to face new challenges and I think that’s wonderful.”
Dixon completed his undergraduate degree at the University of the Pacific and attended law school at Santa Clara University. Although he had his own law practice, he didn’t feel happy.
“After twelve, fifteen years, I lost my enthusiasm for the law,” he said. “One of the problems when you practice law is that you can’t pick and choose your clients. I found myself representing people who I had personal moral objections to and you have to suspend those moral objections and represent people. I didn’t like doing that. I said, ‘That’s not for me.’ I said, ‘I want to do something else.”
After writing fiction for a few years and studying history at the University of Alabama, Dixon entered NSU in 2000 as an assistant professor. He said that he doesn’t regret leaving law.
“I’d have a lot more money, but I enjoy myself more teaching than I did in practice,” he said. “And at the end of the day, the question is ‘Are you earning a living and are you happy with what you’re doing?’ and I’m going, ‘Yeah.’ NSU is a great place to teach.”
When he’s not teaching, Dixon enjoys watching football and cheering for his favorite teams Crimson Tide from the University of Alabama and the San Francisco 49ers. He likes playing challenging card games, Wii and Xbox. Dixon also enjoys reading fiction and writing articles to present what he has learned, but his favorite hobby is learning.
“I read a lot of history because I enjoy it a lot and I read newspapers and magazines and journals, not just to keep up with my field but because I find it interesting simply to learn new things,” he said. “If I had to name a hobby it’d be learning new things.”
And learning new things is what Dixon is happiest doing.
“The big question is ‘Do you like yourself?’ when it comes down to it,” he said. “And I do. And so, that’s enough. I like my job and I like my life.”
