Debt sucks.

I've edited out personally identifying information. Sorry.

Well. I suppose I should start at the beginning.
At the start of the semester, I only had enough money to pay for part of my full semesters tuition + books- a total sum of roughly 1300 American Dollars. So I paid my first 250$ to My College and bought the required texts for my classes.

A few months roll around, and I began to get bounced-check statements in the mail from FACTS, My College's collection company. Utterly befuddled at this turn of events, thinking that I had three whole months left to pay my tuition, I call the company. They tell me that since I was late on two payments I received no ten-day notice for, that they have charged me the late payments as well as 75 American Dollars in overdraft fees. I am not pleased because 1) I didn't have the money in the account, hence the overdraft, and 2) I didn't get my promised ten days notice so that I could put the money in the account before it becomes drafted out, to try and prevent this exact situation from occurring.

I cancelled my payment plan. However, when you do that, My College holds your grades and denies access to certain features of webadvisor until you have paid them. They also block you from registering from next semesters classes. Keep this in mind, as it is a key point in the saga of Why I Have No Graduation Plan.

So I give them (My College) 250 more American Dollars.
A few weeks roll by, and I begin getting statements in the mail for non-payment. This was expected, as I haven't yet paid them. I work part time to try and pay for my school and my car. My car comes first, because without my car, I wouldn't be going to school. It's a long way  to walk from My House.

Where does this leave us? Having still not paid the remaining dues to My College, I can't register, nor can I access Web Advisor. All I can do is feed more money into the system.
I suppose that, at this point, my graduation plan includes not graduating just yet. I can't afford it. I won't be returning next semester, and that's that. I need to work full time, as I hope to move out of my mother’s house and become independent. I'm nearly 21, and I think it's about time I get to work on starting my own life.

Another integral part of my plan is to learn from past mistakes. I'll get financial aid when I start back to school (and I will return- the question, however, is when.) instead of going blindly into things and hoping that money will sort itself out. It never does. I'll also sign up for fewer classes, thus, being cheaper, and also allowing more time for me to work and pay for them without my grades suffering as they did this semester. Hindsight, which is 20/20, has not-so-kindly informed me of just how much money I've wasted by signing up for classes which I am unable to complete. I'm less than happy about this fact, and quite in debt.

Long story short: I will not be making a glorious and triumphant return to My College in the spring. I simply don't have the money. I will, however, be working full time and hoping to save up enough to move out, and then go to school of my own accord at a as-yet to be determined point in the future.

As for the $516.40 I still owe, I will be walking over to the Payment building after this class and handing over my shiny silver check card, and paying off $100 that I owe, leaving me with a whopping NINE WHOLE DOLLARS. It's still not quite enough, but it's a good start. If all goes according to plan, I will get close to enough money for Christmas (Relatives, you know.) that I will be able to pay the remainder. Should that brilliant plan of action fail me, I guess I'll be heading to the pawn shop with a stack of DVDs, won't I?

Why is life expensive? Can't we be like the Polynesian Island Peoples and use a shell and faith based economy of good will, relics from the ocean, and the ability to trade bread and meat for goods and services?

Wrote this for school.

Hello, my name is Spenser. As one student, I have a story. Mine. My story, as you shall soon see, is about life-long learning- defined in On Course, Strategies for Creating Success in College and in Life, as “finding valuable lessons and wisdom in nearly every experience one has.”

At this point my life has not been very long. I’m nearly 21, and with the miracles of modern medicine, that’s only about ¼ of the way to being dead. I have a long way to go. While I’m just completing the changes that come with the ending of my life's formative years, like my brain and personality being fully developed, finally figuring out what “interest rates” are, and growing out of my acne and into my boobs, I realize that while I’ve learned a lot- I still have a lot to learn. I know that this is one thing about me that will never change- no matter what happens or how I’m affected, I will always have something new to find out about.

That’s not a bad thing. In fact, it’s a good thing. I love learning new things. I know what Napoleon’s biggest mistake was, why Dijon mustard isn’t produced in Dijon, and all about Harry Potter. While these things may seem unrelated and irrelevant to the topic at hand (and I assure you- they aren’t.) they all have one thing in common- I had to seek them out in order to learn about them. I took a history class, looked up mustard on the Internet, and took my time reading every Harry Potter book. I wanted to know more.

In college and in life, I make it my mission to learn as much as I can about everything. Knowledge is power, and I aim to be an evil mastermind, a giant brain, an encyclopedia in high-heels. The first step to life-long learning is wanting to learn, wanting to know more, a need to seek information. I have all of that and more. Whenever a problem arises, my first instinct is to Google it, find a book about it, or ask someone who knows. (Thanks to it being the year 2010, I usually use Google as a first resort.)

One situation where I benefited greatly from my joy of learning was during my World Civilizations class last semester. With an avid interest in Medieval Times and a desire to do well on assignments, I listened raptly to my instructor as she told of Crusades and Popes, cathedrals and rats, famine and fiefdom. I took it upon myself to read everything I could find and go out of my way to do excellent work on the topic at hand. Because of my love of learning, I did great in the class and got a lot of out it- a lot of things I still find fascinating and am still interested in.

Sometimes I learn things that are valuable to me, such as how to cook for myself and drive my car. Other things are not so important- like Harry Potter’s favorite food (treacle tart) or how to make balloon animals. However, this is of no matter- it doesn’t matter WHAT you learn, as long as you bothered to learn it. The old saying “You learn something new everyday.” doesn’t necessarily refer to learning something academic, as long as you set forth that day with the desire to expand your mind in some way.

In the future, I don’t plan to stop learning about things. I’ll always be seeking out knowledge, until I know everything there is to know about anything that ever is. Sadly, since there is a lot more stuff in the universe than there is Spenser, I am setting a rather lofty goal for myself. I’ll never know everything, if I live a thousand years, but I’ll get closer with every word I read and every experience I have. There will be many, and I am few, and soon my brain will be so packed I’ll have to forget things or risk explosion. But that’s alright with me. I’ll just want to know what caused the spontaneous combustion in the first place.