Confessions of A Working Girl

I know I’m not alone in this…why does schooling have to be so freaking expensive? I know, I know…this is something that I should have realized long ago, especially with the fact that I will be a Junior in college this coming year… But it only just hit me.

I mean, what better way to make me realize just how much money this was when I heard my parents talking (technically, I think they were talking to me) about that if anything happened to me while I was abroad this coming year (e.g. death or… serious disability, I guess)  because of all my loans for school, and because most of those loans are under my parents names, they could potentially lose everything? That was a scary thought. I mean, I’ve known for years now that if we didn’t have the house, the income level that we have would make us homeless.

…maybe I’m not supposed to be telling people that. But it’s one of the things that is big on my mind, and I just need to…vent.

Anyway, this makes it so that my current obsession with scratch tickets is semi-ok since my ultimate goal is to win enough to help my parents pay off the mortgage for the house. That way they don’t have to worry about the bank taking it away…I think. Could the bank still take it away?

Plus, my parents need to keep the house so that I have somewhere to live after college while I pay back this enormous debt that the schooling results in. It’s a stupid, vicious cycle…you go to college and get into debt in order to get a degree which will enable you to get a well paying job which will enable you to make enough money both to live off of and to pay back that debt. Whereas if you don’t go to college and get into debt, you run the risk of making only barely enough money to live off of. Sheesh, we need to come up with a better system.

Despite my recent realization about all this debt, going to Japan has become as much of an obsession as…as…as James Dean! I really really really really want to go to Japan. I want this extended spring semester to work so badly that I’m almost starting to panic. And I hate that. The panic thing, that is. The biggest problem with the extended semester is getting the visa. They told me that to get the visa, I should be able to show that I have access to at least $15,000. And no, credit limits on credit cards don’t count. My question is: Where the hell does Japan think that an average person wishing to study abroad is going to get that money?????

All the bank accounts in my house combined would probably only barely hit 8 or 9 thousand. And I told the person in charge of the visa paperwork that I’d get all the paperwork to him by this week!!!!! Panic!!!!!!

…why doesn’t this blog have emoticons? Emoticons are fun! Like on msn messanger or aim…but msn has better emoticons. Much better ones. And they’re more fun too. But sadly, the emoticons won’t even copy + paste into the blog. T_T

Anyways, at least the Spain study abroad is all set. I just got the information on the people that I’m going to stay with. It sounds like it  will be with a nice older couple. I’ll get to meet them…I think the tentative schedule said that I would meet them four days after I arrive in Spain. I should touch up on my spanish…and learn/relearn how to say “Nice to meet you!” in spanish!

Oh, the other thing that I need to do for Spain is to find a gift for the host family. The letter from the study abroad program “suggested” that the gift be something smallish and useful. Mom suggested cranberry tea. Because of course, the gift should be something from the area I’m from–which is to say, Cape Cod. So, something cranberry…hmm…I didn’t want to get a book, since any book I got here would be in English, and besides, you can get books anywhere. Although by that token I guess you can pretty much get anything anywhere, I suppose…

I wonder…is there anything that is made/sold exclusively on Cape Cod and no where else in the world?  If anyone knows, please tell me!

…well…It’s 12:30 am, which could be part of the reason I’m close to panicking….I’m too tired to think straight! (Not that I ever think straight…usually I like to think in nice  qualihedron type shapes. And no, I don’t know how many sides that has…if it’s even a real word…)

2 Comments » Jerry:

August 18th, 2010 @ 5:56 pm You know…One way or another things always work out…Not always the way you had wished for, but sometimes for the better…or not…

Listen to “If that’s what it is” and don’t get nervous…what will happen, will happen…and therefore it is what’s meant to be….

Jerry:

August 18th, 2010 @ 6:02 pm P.S. Try www.cranberryharvest.com they sell cranberry jelly made with only Cape Cod cranberries