Everyone tells me college is a good idea so I should probably go to college. The shitty thing about student loans is it presupposes that incoming freshman are capable of making extremely important financial decisions that will affect their world for years to come.
And thus the deadline is born. By this point in time you must know exactly what you intend to be for the rest of your life. You must have it all figured out, because you're about to devote thousands of someone else's dollars to this endeavor; therefore, you need to be happy with this decision or else you are guaranteed to be very unhappy as you try to balance the crushing realization of your mistake combined with the pressure of pursuing your career.
This puts off everything intended to "stimulate the economy". I can tell you right now I'm 24 and I have no idea when I will even come close to being able to buy a house, buy a new car, get married, have a decent-size disposable income, or pursue something meaningful,
Instead, I'm paralyzed by indecision.
I can feel the palpable disappointment and surprise in the faces of people I see at my part-time job as I tell them about my part-time job and five-year plan and hopeful outlook for the future.
So here I am still at an insurmountable disadvantage, and the crazy thing is that education seems to still be viewed as a privilege. Like what the fuck?
The White House recently released a study claiming that student loans are good for the economy. That's mind blowing.
My government is telling me being in debt for twenty years is a good thing. My education will pay for itself.
It sure doesn't feel that way. It feels like I made a huge mistake.