`` you can make fun of me for being a hick , '' she said , holding up a hand to stem the inevitable protest that joe started to put up , `` and you can be a crabby jerk because you 're too uptight to admit that you hate law school and hate the life you 've chosen at penn , but do n't know how to find your way out of the straightjacket of your parents ' expectations for you , '' she said to joe in a calm , slow , deliberate voice that made her seem timeless and wizened , mature and all-knowing .