Student Loans: Just Do It

At eighteen I made myself a promise: I would avoid student loans at all costs. 

This is a story about broken promises.

After I graduated high school, I spent a year in Milan, Italy, on a scholarship from the Rotary Exchange Program.  To describe the experience in one word: completebliss.  I became an expert in eating risotto, learned how to decipher Gothic and Roman cathedrals, and amazingly, began to appreciate techno music.

But before I could blink, the year was over and I was back at my parents' house facing reality.

Within one week of arriving in America, I enrolled full-time at the community college and got a job at a bakery decorating cakes.  My plan was simple enough: I would work thirty hours a week while taking seventeen units.  That way, I wouldn't have to go take out loans and could be completely self-supported. 

And so reality commenced.  Three days a week, I woke up and worked from five in the morning until one in the afternoon, then race to school for class.  Around 6 p.m. I would rush home and study until I crashed around midnight.  Of course quick meals and errands were scattered throughout the day, but overall, I was constantly on the go.  I took classes during winter and summer so I could transfer on time, and thus this chaos lasted for two years.

But my story is not an unfamiliar tale.  Millions of American students have to work overtime to make ends meet.  The main party concerned: the middle class.  Those of us who don't qualify for government aid and don't have handouts from mommy and daddy to rely on have to foot the bill without an ounce of help.

Of course the argument can be made that scholarships are available.  But like any prize, scholarships can't be awarded to everyone.  Besides winning the lottery or inadvertently discovering the cure for cancer, the next best option is borrowing money.

Student loans have gained a certain stigma over the past decade because of the overall increase in tuition and decrease in available jobs for graduates.  Many students, including myself, are afraid of the unknown outcome of loans.  What if I can't find a job?  What if I don't graduate?  Will I be able to pay it off?  And in fear, they resort to trying to do it on their own, like I did.

When I finished junior college, I was debt-free and had a 4.0 GPA.  Do I consider my two years a success?  Far from it.  By the end of my whirlwind of school and work, I was exhausted and uninspired.  I also didn't have any spectacular college memories to account for.  My quality of life had dwindled.

Transferring to Sac State, I was forced to go on student loans.  I wanted to continue working and struggle with finances.  However, I needed my parents to cosign my loan agreement and they did on the condition that I didn't work.  It was either school and debt, or no school at all, so I hesitantly went with the former. 

Now, halfway through my first loan funded semester, I can say it was the best scholastic decision I was ever forced to make.  I can sleep in.  I can actually read my textbooks.  I can go out on the weekends.  Not having to work has completely changed my college experience for the better.

So I broke a promise that I made at 18.  Big deal; I'm much smarter now.  I'll admit the fear still lingers in my mind that I'll be plagued by student debt eons after I'm out of school.  I'll address that problem when I get to it, if I ever do.  Right now, I am going to kick back and do what students should do best: learn.

The Break of Daum

Sarah Palin.  Oprah.  Lady Gaga.  Ellen Degeneres.  Miley Cyrus.

Collectively, American female role models are nothing short of varied.  From bra-burners to domestic dames, creationists to the college-educated, this spectrum of so-called heroines is so diverse it's often difficult for young girls to decide who and what to mimic.  Looking at the range of their predecessors, the forecast for the upcoming generation of females is a befuddled overcast. 

But there's a rising star coming from the east, shedding light throughout the greater forty-eight before settling in the sacred City of Angels.  This bright burst is writer Meghan Daum and her rationale is enlightening the conflicted females of Generation X and beyond. 

Born in 1970 and raised in the suburbs of New Jersey, Daum received her bachelor's degree from Vassar College followed by her Masters of Fine Arts degree from Columbia University.  She spent most of her twenties in New York City, finishing school and starting her career as an essayist for magazines such as Harper's and GQ.  In 1999, Daum made a dramatic move to Lincoln, Nebraska, which took her reputation and fame to the next level.

While living in the Midwest, Daum wrote the semi-autobiographical novel The Quality of Life Report, which chronicles the story of Lucinda Trout, a female journalist who moves from the chaos of New York City to the tranquil pastures of Prairie City, Nebraska.  Along with a collection of essays entitled My Misspent Youth, the novel propelled Daum to the forefront of upcoming American writers.   

After her stay in Nebraska, Daum continued her own Manifest Destiny to California where she became a weekly columnist for the Los Angeles Times in 2005.  In an interview with Sheelah Kolhatkar of the New York Observer, Daum commented on her transformation to column writing:

"I always thought newspaper writing would be very dry, but it’s quite the opposite. I’m allowed to be much smarter in the L.A. Times than I’ve been allowed to in any other publication. I think a lot of writers feel that way.”

Daum's column is a hodgepodge of current events, pop-culture, and politics all told from the female perspective.  What differentiates Daum's outlook from that of her literary contenders?  Unlike many of the voices of op-ed sections throughout the nation, Daum is balanced and refreshingly realistic, while still connecting to her middle-class, feminine roots.

In a recent piece titled "Facebook, I just can't quit you" Daum contemplates the world's addiction to Facebook and weighs out the pros and cons of leaving the social network.  She thoroughly examines the usefulness and trivial aspects of the site before reaching the conclusion that Facebook is a necessity in the new world of networking.  Whether you like it or not, you're better off having your picture property of Mark Zuckerberg.

In another article called "Christine O'Donnell's real roots" Daum debunks some assumptions about the suddenly popular right-wing senatorial candidate.  As a contemporary of O'Donnell, Daum reasons out the politician's history and points out some of her better qualities.  At the end of the column, the reader is far from convinced that the writer is conservative, but the piece paints a fair picture of O'Donnell rather than a skewed view given by many op-ed contributors.

Through her writing, Daum is able to take a step back and provide subtle evidence for big-picture reasoning.  She doesn't sway to far to either side of an issue and allows her readers to discover their own conclusions.  Perhaps not dramatically controversial, Daum is still a valuable asset to both literature and journalism.  She seeks to uncover hidden truths in a range of subjects, all relating back to the modern day woman.

At age 40, Meghan Daum is only at the dawn of her career.  Hopefully she will continue to enlighten readers for many years to come while providing a balanced perspective for a confused generation of females.

For more information on Meghan Daum and her work, visit meghandaum.com.

Public v. Private, Mother v. Child

Gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman is promising voters she will bring her Silicon Valley success to Sacramento if elected this November.  This would be a valuable guarantee if business and democracies operated under the same general principles.

News flash: they don't.

Many arguments may lead one to conclude that government and the private sector are plausible substitutes for one another.  It's easier to see differences when examining their definitions.

As defined by Dictionary.com, a democracy is "government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system."

Simple enough.

Dictionary.com also defines business in several ways, though the following definition is the most applicable to the discussion: "a person, partnership, or corporation engaged in commerce, manufacturing, or a service; profit-seeking enterprise or concern."

With both definitions on the table, it's obvious that these two entities are difficult to compare. 

But how could this be?  The public versus private struggle has plagued the legislature, campaigns and economic lessons for decades.  Should we bow-down and praise the movement of the invisible hand?  Or should we impose heavy regulation, locking down the free market? 

It reminds me of my younger days as a feisty, rebellious and admittedly annoying teenage girl stuck in a constant power struggle with my curfew-enforcing mother.  But the frustrating and passionate arguments with my mom usually left me puffy-eyed rather than powerful, because in the end, she was the boss.  She was exhausted and stressed after dealing with a self-centered adolescent, but still, she was the boss.

My analogy is cloudy, so I'll offer a hypothetical situation to better define my point.  Imagine a world where we all consider ourselves brothers and sisters.  But, as siblings, we have a unique opportunity to select one mother to govern us.  Perhaps, we will also have the chance to elect a father, aunts, uncles, and grandparents to aid our Mom when making decisions.  Nonetheless, the elders (or the elected officials) have the power that we have so carefully given to them. 

As children (or business owners) our elders want us to grow and prosper.  They want to go around to all the other parents (whether counties, states, or nations) and say "Hey, look what my kid can do!"  Meg Whitman, the CEO,  was a child prodigy.

The mother has power to correct us when we are doing wrong.  If a particular brother/sister is hurting another sibling, they may receive a deserved time-out.  If a particular citizen is taking advantage or exploiting other citizens, they may need to serve some hard time.

But what if the mother is wrongfully punishing child?  Let's not forget that in this hypothetical world, we give away the power by selecting who is in charge.  Unlike the real-world, we can replace our mother with a better, more ethically sound candidate. 

If you personally don't like your mother, fortunately in this family there are many ways for your opinions and thoughts to be heard.  But if you can't change the majority of your siblings minds to work to your advantage, then tough shit.  What Mom says, goes.

When it comes to public v. private, there really shouldn't be any competition, like with the hypothetical parent/child relationship.  In the end, the public has the power.  Why?  Because that is what we, as a democracy, decided.  We as as a whole are the public.  No doubt that the private sector, like children, have rights, but they're not the almighty entity.

Neither side can exist without the other.  Well, I guess kids could live without their parents a la Lord of the Flies, but that didn't work out too well.

Both sides play pivotal parts though the roles are completely different.  I guess the question now is will Meg Whitman, as a successful child, be a successful parent?  I'm not saying there she couldn't be a good government leader, but there is no guarantee with her past that she will.