The Best Birthday Gift

I don’t normally give myself a birthday gift and I don’t suppose you can really qualify this as a gift, but in my opinion it’s the best gift I could have ever given myself. As of February 1, my birthday, my student loans, accumulated over five years of college, are officially paid off. I am not kidding when I say that tears are forming in my eyes as I type this. Twelve years removed from receiving a degree, I am finally out of debt to the Department of Education. I could not be more overjoyed!

My parents did me a solid on two accounts: first, they made me pay for my own education and second, they helped me procure loans in my own name through the Department of Education. For those who may not know, the interest rates for the government loans are a whole heck of a lot cheaper than those you may get from a bank or credit union.

I’d like to address that first point a little further. My dad paid for his own college education by working and perhaps securing loans, I honestly don’t know if he got a loan or not but I do know he paid for it all on his own. He also paid for his high school education at a private school. As a result, I suppose he felt like his kids needed to pay for their own education as well

So, when I headed off to Tuscaloosa in the fall of 1995 as a wild eyed freshman, I went in knowing that I would be paying the way. I did earn a small scholarship or two that first year and my last and fifth year was paid for by my GA position in the athletic department. I can’t remember for sure, but I think my parents may have paid for my place to stay freshman and sophomore years and I did receive the occasional spending money from them and other family members; but, for the most part I was on my own. I worked at the library at University for spending money during the school year and in the summers, I held down at least two part-times jobs and sometimes additional babysitting or whatnot to pay for my sorority, books, and additional spending money.

Now, here I am 12 years after graduation and I am finally paying off those pesky student loans. To me, having to pay my way through school definitely made me appreciate my education a lot more than I think I would if someone had just written a check on my behalf. I’m so proud of myself for doing it on my own; I wouldn’t want it any other way… now. At the time, I probably thought it was unfair. I went through periods of deferment because I was unemployed, or really poor, but in the end, it’s all paid off and it’s the best gift I could have ever given myself.

I really get annoyed when I hear about or see storylines in shows about parents who go into an immense amount of debt to pay for their child’s education. If you have the money, well, that’s one thing, but if the parent has to take out a loan that’s another. I don’t think any parent should go into debt for their child’s education. The parents have earned the right to kick the kid out and enjoy their lives without going into debt while their kid is boozing it up at State U. I just personally think that the child should find a way to pay and if that means loans, so be it. If all goes according to plan, the child can spend the next 12 years paying off the loan rather than the mom and dad. I could go on, but this is kind of a soap box issue with me and I think I’ll shut up for now. I may get some hateful comments on the subject, but this is my blog and this is how I feel – make your kid pay for their own education.

All this to say, thanks Mother and Daddy for making me get my own loans and thanks Mother for filling out all the paperwork to get those loans while I was off boozing it up in Tuscaloosa (I don’t think this comment has really come as a shock to anyone). Without your having made me pay my own way, I don’t think I would appreciate my education as much as I do and I just really couldn’t be more grateful!