Happy & Healthy
THE BITCH THAT
STUDENT LOAN IS CALLED
How on earth did I let it get this far? Not a week goes by that it doesn't haunt me. Hello, my name is Kiki and I have a student loan of over EIGHT brand new Chanel bags. And I'm talking about the largest size bag too, I'm afraid.
I was in my fourth year of Journalism, probably could have easily passed everything and then chose to work. I wanted to build a career, and quickly. I thought I would ‘pick up’ that school again ‘later’, when I would be less busy with my adult job at the largest news site in the Netherlands and 'super cool' image. And then? Well, then I came into contact with the phenomenon of AdultSalary for the first time and then you know as a not-yet-graduated person that you are pretty much fucked...
Thousands of (ex-)students have more than half a ton of debt. And due to the new loan system, the number of people with sky-high student debt will most likely only increase, as calculations from RTL News show. I find those quite alarming figures and somewhere we can conclude that things are not going well with the student à la 2017.
I still haven't accepted the idea of debt in myself (the sensible girl who always has her shit together, doesn't need to borrow a cigarette from someone else). It gnaws at me weekly. When my mother brings it up, I snap, I get nervous from critical friends, and actually, I haven't felt like hearing a sermon from Sander for years. Every year I still pay almost two thousand euros in tuition fees in the hope that I will ‘finish it someday’. I still borrow my tuition fees from DUO, so my final amount goes up by 2000 euros for every year I don't graduate. Recognizable? I hope not for you. And otherwise: welcome to the naive club! It's starting to get quite crowded here, huh? God, it's just that there are so many of us, otherwise I would have felt like the only loser. Maybe we should organize a drink soon? We'll drink gin and tonics and hang a sign outside the door:
“Student debt is just like cellulite: I pretend it doesn't exist.” Sounds like a plan to me.
“But seriously: it gnaws at you. It's terrible.”
During the New Year's Eve, I (okay, we, I together with a bottle of vodka) came to a revelation. Even if I had won a hundred grand during the New Year's draw, first there would be gambling tax deducted and then a student loan. There wouldn't be much left over. These are the things you think about every time you buy new clothes. Or talk about a potential house purchase. When you hear other people say the words ‘study’, ‘diploma’, or ‘debt’. It gnaws at you. It's terrible. I started making the most bizarre comparisons. I mean: those eight designer bags are everything, but what about a world trip? A world trip including a new car. A world trip, a car, AND ten pairs of Louboutins that aren't even comfortable. There you go. Not okay.
But now. After more than four years of ostrich practices, it's time to stop procrastinating. Screw losing weight and quitting smoking; if there's anything on the priority list of New Year's resolutions this is it. I am definitely going to make a plan, enlist help, clear the mess. I would love to give tips on how to tackle this best, but dear people, I still don't have a diploma either. Once I am a bit further in the ‘Kiki Gets Diploma Challenge’, I'll let you know, okay?
For now: God help me that this doesn't turn into another hopeless failure attempt. Come on, I can do this! “Eight Chanel bags... Eight Chanel bags... Eight Chanel t...”
P.S.: Tips, condolences, expressions of support, and especially donations are always welcome via kiki@amayzine.com, you understand.
