The controversies surrounding the legal arguments for military action in Syria confirms what has become progressively apparent to me when editing the weekly paper at my school: Law encapsulates what constitutes the foundations of society - culture, history, beliefs and values. Law expresses a vision of the world. Law is both intellectual and concrete reality. This is the reason why I want to study it in higher education.

My understanding of what Law really is has grown over time, through various experiences and when reading history, geography and economy. Having lived in London since my childhood means that I have an insight into both the English and French cultures. It is particularly intriguing how culture and history forge the way a country creates its legal environment, for example the Roman Law in France and Common Law in England. On reading Peter Ackroyd's account of the " Foundation" of England, I realised how the way Law is created uses different paths to reach the same goal of ruling life: in the UK, through case law and statutes whereas on the Continent Civil Law usually is a codified system. This implies an understanding of the underlying reasons for that, which makes studying Law so exciting.

Interested to discover more about these legal systems I have spent much time in the public galleries of the Supreme Court where I have witnessed many civil appeal cases. This has given me an invaluable insight into the role of a barrister within trial proceedings. Also, I have attended meetings of the Council of "Les Portes-en-Re", a small village in the Charentes in France. There, I perceived how concrete Law is, dealing with all aspects of the life of the community, from planning permissions and roadworks to social care, jobs and education. Also, it helped me to appreciate how Law is critical to proper decision-making.

It was also eye opening when I did a work experience placement in the Legal Department of Twentieth Century Fox UK in June 2012. There, I became aware of the mutuality of obligation in employment contracts. Working at this company also helped me understand the importance of copyright law and the difficulties of safeguarding intellectual property. I learned that Twentieth Century Fox are very careful in managing their intellectual property rights in particular since the case of Dastar Corp. v. Twentieth Century Fox. The Legal Department frequently alluded to this case in which the US Supreme Court ruled that the primary trademark statute of law in the US could not be applied as the Fox failed to renew their copyright and therefore the material had entered the public domain. I was struck that the specificity of rules and contractual provisions could cost a studio so heavily, and realised why law is vital to business.

In my spare time I like to immerse myself in aviation and I plan to obtain my EASA Part-FCL Light Aircraft Pilot Licence (LAPL) next year. I feel that aviation and Law have much in common as both require rigour and hard work to reach excellence. A pilot must be attentive to every detail and think logically, just like a lawyer must use his critical abilities when studying a case. Also, playing footbal weekly with a group of friends requires from me quick and perceptive decisions, concentration and perseverance - just like Law. I continue to develop similar skills in my role as editor of my school paper. It brings me to debate with contributors, clearly formulate facts and opinions and make editorial decisions. Also, it helps me to get a strong sense of priorities and clearly set and keep in mind the objective I pursue when working on a task. I greatly look forward to studying Law and embarking on a structured course which will guide my, as yet informal, learning with excellent teaching.