I Will Die With Student Loan Debt

[Skidmore]

131. As a mother during the late 90s and early 00s, I was raising

two children. I worked full-time at a day job as a secretary and went to college at a state university part-time in the evening to complete my undergraduate degree. I got grants and scholarships here and there as I could. We lived frugally, understanding that this was an investment in the future. My kids were fed and clothes and had a roof over their heads. Our entertainment was events that were free in the community. When I started graduate school, I negotiated to take vacation time for any class hours I needed during the work day and took a leave of absence to do my internship. I was fortunate to have a stipend to cover part of the second year of graduate school. I worked to keep employed and I kept employed to live and raise my children. Granted, there was a couple of years during which I was averaging 2-3 hours of sleep a night during time when school was in session. My priorities were to get my education and to see my children were provided for. I graduated with $10K in student debt loan which I paid off at double payments every month, settling that debt within five years of graduation. It was not easy. I was not a slave to get an education. I was investing in my own future and the future of my children, who both went onto complete their educations.