If there's one thing in life I hate to do, it's to ask for help. I like to be the girl who *seemingly* has it all together and never depend on anyone else. So, you can imagine my frustration when I realized the crippling cost of higher education a few years back and the fact that I simply could never afford to pay for it.

Of course, I never really imagined a life where I didn't attend college. Knowing that my time spent in higher education would be mostly funded by myself, I eventually came to terms that I'd have to borrow money if I ever wanted to afford it. I worked my way through over half of high school and unfortunately, did not have enough saved to even make a dent in my tuition bill when college came around.

I'd be lying if I said I didn't contemplate not returning to school again when it comes time to reapply for financial aid each year. I know this seems crazy, but I hate the idea of putting myself further and further in debt. Watching the interest grow faster than I can pay it off each month honestly terrifies me.

I hate my student loans, and I hate that I am not able to just pay my tuition out of pocket. If there's one thing these loans have taught me, it's the value of money. How important it is to work your ass off if you have the opportunity to do so. Working as a full-time student is definitely not the easiest thing in the world, but it's something a majority of us have to do in order to provide for ourselves. It's worth it when you make your own money and only have to be dependent on yourself.

My loans have held me accountable in many circumstances. Knowing that I'm borrowing money to attend school pushes me harder and harder each day to do my best in class and on exams. I take school seriously because I'm already working to pay these loans back, and know that I will be for a lot of my life to come.

By no means am I saying student loans are the way to go, but for some, they are unfortunately the only option when it comes to affording higher education.