In August of 2003,  much of my time was consumed of shopping in Target for twin sheet sets, desk lamps, colorful furry rugs, expensive-as-hell textbooks, and of course— new clothes.  I bet this sounds all too familiar to every 18 year old girl (and some boys) going to college.  I was super excited to be at the final stretch of exams, studying, quizzes, term papers, and school lunches forever.  I felt good that I had finally made it.  I was going to be something in life.  I would be a “professional” in just 4 years. At least that’s what I thought.

I was fortunate enough that my first two years were paid for by my very hard working Dad.  However, after paying two years of college out of pocket, my apartment rent , my spending money, buying me a car, paying the note and insurance, AND those expensive-as-hell textbooks… he was all wiped out.  I decided to take out student loans to lighten his load as a single parent. 

30,000 + in loan debt, one kidney infection, 3 tongue re-piercings and 198 hangovers later …. I cannot say that it was all worth it.  As I sit here I am trying to recite 10 things that I learned.. and guess how many I came up with? None. LOL It’s sad but true.  On top of that I chose a degree that is pretty much USELESS in the world.  I started off in school as a nursing major, but hated the science classes. So I turned to Criminal Justice.

Yet, even after all those semesters of preparing for graduation, where was the course on how to get the most out of this piece of paper once you have it? Granted I have a very rewarding job but, it’s not my dream job.  In fact, I’m almost clueless on how to achieve my dream job without quitting my job, getting my car repossessed, becoming a financial burden on my wife, and gaining 100,000 more dollars of law school debt.  The recession doesn’t give me much hope either.  So many young law school graduates are out of work and struggling to pay their loans and survive.  Clearly, I should start thinking of a plan B.

College didn’t teach me how to have a plan B.  So what the hell did I pay for exactly? It is college’s fault that I’m not driving my dream car! Or able to shop until I drop! Or take Dana on surprise vacations! It’s because I’m still paying for my degree which has done nothing for me in return so far.  So what did they teach me in college? The answer is easy. Nothing.  Not even how to fill out a W-2 form, or balance my check book, or clean an oven, or invest my money, or read the stock charts…. What the hell have I done?

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