I was honestly curious because there were so many strong / dismissive responses but I knew you are a human being and truth is always compelling. A friend of my sister spent a large amount of time applying for scholarships before she graduated at the top or maybe second in her class in the late 80s and actually made quite a bit of money while she attended college. So much so that she said she still had not had a job that gave her as much money as she was making in college from scholarships the last time I talked with her, which was maybe 2003-2004 when she was working on a cruise ship.
Myself I received humble in-state education, paced so that I don’t have debt, and I live with great austerity not out of necessity, but out of an understanding of “wealth” as “that which allows more options” that gives me the liberty of lumping my knowledge and abilities under my personal wealth rather than just my finances. While I’ve generally been considered highly intelligent, I’ve been a very un-ambitious person in my life and I find myself working at a job I’m very capable at but making less than five figures a year. I’ve made peace with the fact that I probably won’t reproduce as it is way out of my means and that my immediate family has produced enough offspring that genes that are a reasonable facsimile of mine will indeed be passed on.
I would like to be involved with post-graduate education but I have great anxieties about putting a chain on my neck until I’ve paid off the loans I would have to take out to pay for an education that might not return on my investment for maybe four decades.
I’m not trying to persuade you to any opinion, I’m just weary of the opposing Conservative “Strict Father” and Liberal “Nurturing Mother” ethoses, and I’ve had enough experience in my life to understand that people act rationally by their own measure and honest communication is good for people.
I’m sorry if that was unclear or rambly but if you read this I really appreciate it. Also thank you for your response.
