How Broad A Brush You Paint

 How Broad A Brush You Paint

It's Not Always Black & White : My Story

There is a huge National discussion and debate right now over Student Loan forgiveness. It seems people are either clearly for it or clearly against it. There does not seem to be much grey area on the issue, which is not to say there are not folks out there who see both sides of the issue. But, in any case, here is my story .... 

I come from humble, but beautiful beginnings.  My father is retired from 36 years as a quarry worker. My mother, now passed, was a retired minister. My brother and I never wanted for anything, but we did not live a life of lavish. We had, what I always thought of, as a massive home as a small child. And we had a perfect family home after we moved to Fort Wayne. Small, but perfect - complete with a basketball court in the back yard! 

In the mid-90's, when it came time for college, we knew that if the scholarships and grants fell short, we would have to take out loans, because our parents made enough money to care for us .... but didn't have "college funds" set aside to pay for our advanced education.  This certainly played a huge part in my decision on where I attended University. (Make no mistake, I am BSU Proud - no regrets - to this day. But there were other choices I bypassed because of cost alone.) 

I was a fair student. I held my own and finished near the top of my class. But, even in the that Era, the competition was stiff, and if one didn't have all the best in all of the right categories, one would fall short of financial assistance. And that, my friends was my situation. 

I majored in Social Work. I minored in the Psychology of Human Development. Why? Because that was what I felt called to do, from a very young age. Career counselors tried, oh so hard, to change my mind - but were unsuccessful. I wanted to help people. I wanted to understand people, so that I could make a difference in this crazy, messed up world. And so I excelled through my program. 

And I took out student loans. 

After graduation, I immediately was hired into a job in my career field, making only $13/hr. I dedicated my life to my work. When I left that job only a year later, I discovered I was pregnant with my now 21 year old son. I was almost immediately hired in at my current employer, making only slightly more per hour. 

Understand that I loved my work. I felt called to do what I was doing. I was passionate about helping people. And I felt that when I began working in Healthcare, that I was now "home." But also understand that Social Workers are not compensated in the ways that Nurses are, or Physical Therapists, or Respiratory Therapists. Yet - when no one knows what to do with a patient situation or how to help, they call us. We are given the worst of the worst, thepst tragic, the saddest, the most challenging ... and we are expected to fix it. 

It took me 18 years to make a respectable wage. But by 18 years in my role, I was burnt out and physically unwell. And still not making as much as many of my of my most respected friends and coworkers in my organization. And so I gave up my calling for a different role - and immediately earned a $3/hrs pay raise ... and in the 3.5 years since, have earned an additional $10/hr or so in pay raises. 

But that is only part of my Student Loan story. Because you also have to understand that in addition to my disgustingly low wages earned, I sadly became a single mother when my son was only 18 months old. Hindsight is 20/20, of course .... and that was definitely for our best interest, over a controlling and abusive relationship. But as a single mom, barely making enough to live, let alone support a baby on my own - and, no, his father did not begin to financially support his child until many years later and a court order - I had no choice but to defer my student loans. 

See, I tried to apply for public assistance, but received a letter that I was over the income requirements by $600. Six Hundred Dollars. So that meant no rent assistance, no food assistance, and no utility assistance. I "made too much money." I put groceries on credit cards. I robbed Peter to pay Paul, as the saying goes, to avoid missing payments. Until I couldn't do it anymore. 

Defer vs Default. Those were my options. And so I chose to defer my student loans. And I had to do that for many years. So that I could survive and feed my child. 

I was a college educated, full-time employed Social Worker at the leading non-profit Healthcare provider in Notheast Indiana - and I couldn't support myself. It was humiliating. But it was my reality. 

So my student loan interest continued to compound for 4 years while I couldn't pay. And what would have been a reasonable loan to repay became even more unreasonable. And when I began to repay again, what I did pay each month only coveted interest. I didn't make any progress on the principal balance. That's how they get you and keep you .... for decades.

That is my Undergraduate student loan story. 

When I changed from Social Work to my current role in Healthcare, I also decided to go back to school. At the time, I once again found myself a single parent, but this time to 3 children. And so I added to my Undergraduate debt, with Graduate student loans. 

What's the point here? The point is - I dedicated nearly 2 decades of my life to the service of helping others. I sacrificed my own health, my well-being, and my financial stability. And hell yes, I want my Undergraduate student loans forgiven. I deserve that. I'm not a free-loader. I've paid my debts to society. And then some. 

College costs an INSANE amount of money. And unless you want to start to pay fairly for the careers that society demands and couldn't survive without - loan forgiveness is a must. Figure out a system of evaluating who meets criteria. 

Figure it out. Quit painting everyone and this topic with such a broad brush. That does no one any favors - least of all, people like me.