Confession of a Student Loaner

The time has come that I face my biggest fear in life and it's not even death, but it pretty much is: student loans!!!! I say that with anger and unhappiness. This month is the start of my 20k+ student loan payment. I will be paying the rate of $270/month and it varies for everyone. This entry will tackle things no one shares when they confess about their loans; most of the time we blame our degree and how it had caused us debt. But it's not, "Guns don't kill people. People kill people." It was a simple formula; don't go to a school or chose a major that costs $50k+ to get a degree that makes $30k.

As much as I want to be an innocent victim of student loans, I'm not, so are many people who claim to be so too. Like many Asian immigrant children, I didn't want to go to college in the first place. It was mainly a dream to fulfill for my parents that they wanted me to benefit from. My loans were a horrible decision I made and regret to this day that I can't blame anyone else but myself. But it was so easy to just click "accept" and wait for the refund check to splurge on things I didn't need. I can't blame my loans for putting me in debt; I fell for the bait; shame on me. Anyone can graduate college without debt.

1) High grades = qualify for many scholarships. Unfortunately, I'm not as smart as I appear/sound to be, so my grades never made it to that requirement. Or if it did, someone else was at a 4.0 that I couldn't compete, so I quit the scholarship route. So if you have amazing grades, keep it up because you would basically get pay to go to school! You are awesome!

2) Work and save. I knew this guy who worked for the school newspaper and all year round just to pay his tuition. He didn't want his parents to worry or worry after he graduated. I should've done the same thing, but I didn't. I bounced between work-study and non-work-study jobs; I have no one to blame for my lack of work credibility. I also chose to live off my refund money to pay for my missions; regret and also don't regret that.

I also accumulated so much loan was because I went on two oversea travel studies. The loans suck, but the memories were truly everlasting. To this day after I graduated, I haven't really gone anywhere. Had I not took those loans, I would've never set foot outside of the US. But hey, try to get good grades to qualify for grants/scholarships. That would've helped pay my travel studies.

My loans also paid for my rent and fed me for 3 years. If I could start again, I would have never accepted those loans and took only what I needed, and pay for my living/everyday expense. I also want to add that I worked toward my degree field, but that wasn't going to pay me to stay alive. I was worried for the longest time that I wouldn't be able to pay my student loans, but I'm glad my current job pays me enough to pay it now.

So how do I feel about my loans? More like what do I want to blame my loans for? I blame my loan for causing me to have a low debt-to-ratio when I need to buy a house. I blame my loans for not shopping because I have to pay it first. I blame my loans for not saving. I hate my loans, but that was my decision. But hey, "I have a college degree."

-----------Just a quick sidenote about college in general
1. College isn't for everyone
2. Everyone doesn't have to go to college to be successful
3. Going to college doesn't default you to be successful
4. Just because you have a college degree, you'll get a job (or can be an ass and rub it in everyone's face)
5. Not having a college degree doesn't degrade your value

College is basically an accessory to your resume. Your success is all up to your own will and college is simply a stepping stone feature. There are plenty of ways to become "financially" successful. You can stick with your high school job and move up the ladder. You can just go after a demanding degree, like IT (Information Technology). A good amount of people just go to college. It works out for some and it doesn't for some. Your life is what you make of it; don't blame college or anyone. In fact, I work for an engineering firm and some of these people make more with their associate degree. It's all about how you market yourself and your network. I mean, look at the people who got famous through social networks. In fact, some people are living off their own youtube channels. That's my dream, but I don't live a normal life for people to relate to. I like to just watch movies and surf the web. Ok, I'm kidding. I go on pretty cool soul searching missions.

5 tips about college
1. Make sure you major in a demanding field, like IT, nursing, doctor. sounds like your parents, huh? (but I was rebellious and did what my heart wanted and graduated with a degree that isn't a need) :P
2. Just have good grades. Quit partying and buying alcohol.
3. Work! You need a good work history after you graduate too.
4. Some friends are forever and some are just for the moment. Be careful who you invest in.
5. If you feel like quitting...don't. Unless you're going to get an IT degree at a technical college :P