Reasons Why Student Loans Are Like Braces
Braces and Student Loans
You may not believe this could be true, but I believe braces and student loans have a lot in common. Yes, those pesky braces you wore on your teeth as a kid (or maybe even now) were a nuisance. You know what else is a nuisance? Student loans! Yet, you are getting something out of both of them, aren't you?
Money, Money, Money...
The most obvious reason braces and student loans are a lot alike is money. You need money for braces. For that matter, you might need a loan to get them. It costs plenty of money to straighten thoseteeth, but it is worth it, right?
The same goes for student loans. You need a lot of money to go to college and you may not have enough. So you've got to get student loans. In the end, they are going to cost you a lot of money. There will be the interest, monthly payments, having to work extra time, and suffering through terrible penny-pinching conditions just to pay them off.
Ah, it's all about the money.
The Suffering
When I was a kid, I thought nothing could be worse than braces. I had to wear a retainer, a lip bumper, headgear, braces, those weird rubber band things around the braces, etc. Visiting the orthodontist was a miserable time for me. Sitting there each night with achy teeth after visiting the orthodontist was pure torture.
You know what else is torture? Paying back student loans. When I was a kid, I could have never imagined anything would make my life even more miserable than braces, but yes, student loans proved me wrong.
Each day, I don't get to buy the things I want, I can't ever save money, and I'll never have a car... because all my extra money goes to student loans. I would take a job that paid a little less or work a job with less hours, but I can't. I have student loans. But one day this suffering will end!
When It Pays Off
When you are sitting at an office job you don't like, paying back hundreds of dollars in student loans every month, it can be easy to think it was not worth it. The same goes for wearing braces on your teeth. When you sit there picking corn out your braces, and your gums are sore because the orthodontist just tightened your braces, it is easy to think it is a bad idea.
One glorious day, everything changes when you get your braces off your teeth. All of sudden people are complimenting you on your straight teeth. When you look back 10 years later and see all the photos from your childhood, it is then that you realize the truth - you were one ugly, buck-toothed kid. Without those braces, people were going to laugh at you. Maybe not to your face, since that is not very nice. But trust me, you needed those braces and they were probably worth it.
As far as student loans go, unless you are more than $100,000 in debt and you are making minimum wage, that college education will probably make sense. It may not feel like it now, but one day, after all those loans are paid off, you are going to feel like a million bucks... even if you never make a million bucks.
If you are making minimum wage and you swimming in immense student loan payments, sorry about that. You are kind of like the kid that wore braces when his teeth were not that bad at all. Some dentist suckered his parents into it and everyone lives with regret now. There are some cases when braces and student loans just don't make sense.
Feels Like Forever
Whenever you are suffering through a miserable experience, such as wearing braces or paying back student loans, time feels like it stands still. I remember as a kid saying numerous times the braces were not worth it. Although I do feel like some people may not benefit from braces, most of us wear them for reason. For instance, no one has called me Bucky in years, and for that, I am quite grateful.
Student loans are much the same way. Although I do not feel like college is for everyone, it can benefit many people. As long as students are smart about how much they take out in loans and they are smart about paying them back in an efficient amount of time, in the long run college does pay off.
With the economy being in the toilet right now, it just does not feel good right now. It feels kind of like having sore gums and corn stuck in your braces. One day the economy will improve, those loans will be paid off, and college graduates will have better jobs. Once the student loans are paid off, all the suffering will be worth it. At least, that is what I keep telling myself as I get a little closer to being debt-free each day.
Copyright ©2014 Jeannieinabottle
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