Money. It drives modern society more than anything else. When a family gets together there are usually unspoken rules: Don’t talk about religion, politics, family issues, or money. Any of these topics are toxic when not discussed with the right group of people. I’m not going to speak to the general public, but instead I’m directing this to a group of people that spends hours of their lives thinking about it. Sometimes they cry, sometimes there are panic attacks involved, and sometimes they are so clueless they have no idea how deep of a hole they’re really in. Yes, I’m talking about college students.
Now, when I chose my university, I knew future-me was going to be stressed out. About books, classes, my social life, jobs, I could go on if I really wanted to. The summer before my freshman year began, I was hanging out with a few high school friends and we were talking about how much college costs. Some of my friends were already forty grand in the hole! We were eighteen years old and thinking about the debt that will continue to accumulate until we find a way to miraculously pay it off. When I think of the debt I will be in for a large portion of my life, I imagine myself as Dobby from Harry Potter and I will finally receive my sock from the banks when I finally pay it off. Sometimes though, students are “lucky” and have their families help with some of the financial burden. And if you are so fortunate that family members are “willing” to help you with the cost of tuition, they make it very clear that they will not be happy about it. It puts even more stress on the students because now the parents are expecting a high return on the investment they have so willingly put in.
I wouldn’t dare want to step out of line while my parents are helping me pay for college. They have been a large support system through my two years so far and I don’t even dare to think what would happen if I messed up. There are times where I feel as though I fail them, that I may not be worth all the money they’ve been giving to my school. But I know it’s not on purpose. I work hard, I keep my nose clean. If I ever did mess up majorly I would “Go directly to jail. Do not pass GO, do not collect $200.” Okay. Maybe that’s being a little over-dramatic, but you get my point. I don’t think parents fully understand the stress they put on their children. The college setting has vastly changed since they were our age. So take all the worries about your classes, extracurricular activities, jobs, money, and now the stress of your parents breathing down your neck, it’s enough to make any twenty-something sweat a little.
I guess my message to all college students is to become educated about the money that is going into your education. Be thankful to whoever is helping you and be thankful that you are even going to college. While the thought of money makes most of us all sick to our stomachs, we have to remember that we will one day receive our socks and be freed from our master that is our student debt.
