I Am The Proud Owner of a Bachelor's Degree

I graduated from USC with a bachelor's degree in 1993, but I finally own my degree. It only took seventeen years and five months to pay for my college education, but it is now officially paid off. It was a struggle at times in the beginning, but I made it. I guess I can now say that my education has paid for itself.

I was not in a hurry to pay off my student loans because the interest rate was so low. There was always something else that took priority. It is a relief to be done with it though. Now I just need to work on The Queen's loans. She did not get a great rate on her student loans. I don't know why that is other than the fact that she graduated fourteen years after me.

I have done just fine in my career even with my student loan payments. My loans have not been much of a burden on my financially. I don't think student loans would be too much of a burden on any college graduate and I think they should be part of the financial aid package for everyone who attends college. You need to value your education and in my mind the only way you can is if you have to pay for it. You would think twice about all of your career decisions if you had loan payments to make every month.

I think this goes hand in hand with my belief that every teenager should work had. I worked in a fruit packing house stacking boxes every summer after I turned sixteen. It was long hours and difficult manual labor, but it made me appreciate college and my career after college. Even before I turned sixteen I worked one year picking up grape trays our in a grape vineyard. After that and working in the packing house, I did not want to end up having to do manual labor for the rest of my life.

The problem today is that it is difficult for teenagers to get those jobs. Most of them are having to work in fast food or retail jobs. Retail jobs to me are just too much fun. They are not hard work at all and are very social jobs. They do not teach the value of hard work and do not make you appreciate working hard for what you get.

Kids today also seem to have much more of a sense of entitlement. They feel like they should not have to do manual labor. It is beneath them. All they want to do is have a job that is fun. They don't know what a serious job is like and will be shocked when they enter the real world and work for their first difficult boss. Most of them will not be able to handle it.

My life has taught me some valuable life lessons and has shaped me into the person I am today. My parents helped me with my college expenses or else I would not have my loans paid off yet. I appreciate their support and believe that what they provided for me was appropriate. They did not give me too much help and I value that. I am planning to do the same thing with my kids and hope they turn out even better than me.