Alright, finally getting some discussion going. I started this blog simply to get in the habit of writing and hoped that through initiating discussion, the theme would start to take shape. Well, I got what I wished for and its time to respond...
In regard to "Grave Concerns" and "Starting a Revolution", I have worked my ass off for the last 4 years first helping the Catholic schools rebound after a near collapse. I applied with no teaching background nor expertise in any particular subject matter. Three years later I had a master's in teaching, my own afterschool program, and a basketball team I volunteer coached for. I worked 50-60 hour weeks and did all of this while making a salary of 30k. Starting this past December, I started working for my father's carpet installation business. When I started, he had a phenomenal reputation and a workload he couldn't handle on his own. Five months later, he has a corporation, a retail store, and an ad looking for new employees. I've worked 6 days a week since I have been home from Costa Rica making a mere $10 an hour which is all he can afford to pay me right now. I know that I made choices to work this hard for little in return, and that I put myself into this tax bracket by not choosing finance, engineering, or biochem as an 18-year-old who was still trying to play professional baseball. I also battle with the notion that financial success is the only kind. I feel many of my peers studying at Fordham were brainwashed by this notion, coming from a much different background than I had, and I did my best not to conform. They may achieve material wealth at an early age, but for what, so they can say they were like everyone else? No thanks. The solution I propose going forward is to tell high school kids the truth rather than what they want to hear. Nobody tells you how it is when you are looking at colleges because they don't want to be dream crushers. That's bullshit, guidance counselors by name should offer guidance, not build up your confidence based on your SAT scores and GPA. Speaking of guidance, not everyone is fortunate enough to have family that can share virtuous advice such as "student loans will sink you", and "make connections with rich kids in college". Everyone is brought into this world under different circumstances, and unfortunately I didn't have many people in my life with the kind of background I envisioned for myself going forward.
As for "fishing for handouts", you couldn't be farther from the truth. I was simply observing that the student loan issue us too far from the public eye. Interest rates for these types of loans should not be higher than mortgage rates. Too often I have seen or heard ads for credit card debt or mortgage loan relief. Not once have I heard anything in regard to student loans, which are affecting a group of people who have no choice but to take entry level positions at 30-50k. Because of this issue and the state of our economy, which hit my age group like a wrecking ball in 2007, high school kids are now resorting to local community colleges and staying at home because of fear. How is this going to get us out of this recession? If my peers from Fordham or other top-tier schools are having a tough time fielding jobs, how are these kids going to find any?
As for my most recent post, I know it was weak but I was trying to step away from the political conversation previously posted. "Vagina Monologues" might be harsh, but definitely noted. Maybe I just got caught up in the nostalgia of visiting friends on another coast with family I don't spend much time with. And yes, I do love myself but shouldn't we all. It's that confidence that will get me through this financial rut and hopefully achievement in my most recent endeavor. Keep an eye out for "The Carpet Workroom and Reclamation Center, INC. Once we go public in 2021, you'll be sorry you didn't invest.
Let's get some more conversation started shall we?
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