Hillbilly Elegy

blindly, I came to know what I wanted
out of the experience—to work for
someone I respected, to learn as much as
I could, and to be close to Usha. So Usha
and I decided to go through the clerkship
process together. We landed in northern
Kentucky, not far from where I grew up.
It was the best possible situation. We
liked our judicial bosses so much that
we asked them to officiate our wedding.
This is just one version of how the
world of successful people actually
works. But social capital is all around
us. Those who tap into it and use it
prosper. Those who don’t are running
life’s race with a major handicap. This
is a serious problem for kids like me.