I totally regret going to college

So I have felt this way from the first year I started college. I never really knew what I wanted to do in life. I went to college because of the pressure from my family. These are the same people who didn't even go to college til either later in life or not at all. My father went when he was in his mid 30's, and my mother never made it past the 10th grade. My parents divorced when I was 2 and they hated each other with a passion, especially my mom. So I always had to decipher what they were trying to say to me, because they always had two completely different idea's of what they wanted me to do.

I always wanted to move away from home, mostly because I could not take living so close to my parents for the rest of my life. They drove me NUTS.
Anyways, Myself and then girlfriend/current wife, moved to Utah to go to the University of Utah. My aunt lived in Salt Lake City, so it was good to have someone there.

Like I said, I never knew what I wanted to do.

The first mistake I made was getting Private Loans from Sallie Mae. NEVER DO THIS... One piece of advice I can give is to avoid private loans like they are the plague. I got them and it was nice at the time, paying for school, having a bit extra to live off of, and not have to worry about them until I graduate.

Well my father and mother co-signed for 2 years each. My father had horrible credit, which I obviously did not know at the time, and now I am stuck with a 9.5% interest rate and my mother got a 5.5% interest rate. So it was $20,000 per year because I had out of state resident status. To add on to that, my father claimed me on his taxes which screwed me with getting the in-state price for tuition.

So I got the ended up graduating with a Bachelors of Science in Mass Communications. The broadest degree one can get, but at least I can now professionally speak to people.

I now have about $100,000 in student loan debt and am working at a $12.50 /hour job that really has nothing to do with my degree. I am trying to pay off my loans, after putting them off for 3 months at a time over the last year at a $150 fee for each time i did it. Again, thank you Sallie Mae for squeezing even harder. So now the payments are $918 per month, thank you very much college, you make me stressed out every day.

So here is a tip from a seasoned veteran...

1. Go to a community college for your general education credits. It's so much cheaper. You can transfer to a bigger university later when it is much more affordable and you have all the stupid general education classes already done.

2. Remember all the thing you need to pay for in college. Books (very expensive), Food for both semesters (remember that you will almost never cook stuff yourself, unless in a microwave), Entertainment(this includes going to college sports games if your into that. And don't say this is not an expense....please, you are not going to sit in the dorm room whenever your not in class.)

3. DO NOT GET PRIVATE STUDENT LOANS. try as hard as you can to get Grants, Scholarships, Federal money, Loans from the government, your grandmother, ANYTHING else.

4. Do extensive research on what you think you want to do as a career. Salary, number of hours worked, what material you need to focus on, Get an internship.

5. Get an internship. There is almost nothing better to help prepare you for a career than an internship. If it is unpaid, do it anyways you will still get college credit for it, which saves you money and time.

Yes, the wind blows

OK, so I am just about sick of every year hearing about how bad hurricanes are, and how they are in the news every day until they are nothing but a tiny T-storm over the Midwest. I realize they are strong storms capable of doing massive damage, but come on.

Let’s think about this, they happen every year without fail. I would assume people realize this, especially the ones who live on the coast and deal with it year after year. I think they should only be in the news if they cause a lot of damage. It like me telling someone who lives in California that it is 60 degrees in Maine. They most likely will not care (unless they are originally from there and are still concerned with the weather for some reason). This is how I feel hearing about every hurricane and tropical storm from A-Z every year.

I realize that Meteorologists have nothing better to talk about, and this kind of stuff gets them all worked up. Most of these storms hit land and weaken so fast, it was like it was just a strong T-storm with some big waves at the coastline. So please, give it a rest on the hurricane bit.

Hot Mama

So I saw this story about a mom who punished a kid with hot sauce. She was convicted and may face jail time. The only reason she was caught, was because she went on the Dr. Phil show and people were so outraged they demanded the police do something about it.

So this brings me to my first point, why would you go on Dr. Phil? He needs hot sauce put in his mouth so he does not speak. Give him the fiery butt hole. Of all the people in the world who you can go to, why is one of those choices Dr. Phil.
If I need money, I go to the bank, not to Bill Gates front door. You get the point…

Second point, what has happened to child punishment in this country? When I was a kid, my father chased me with the belt he was wearing at that specific time if I did something wrong. I got spankings, or smacked with a wood spoon or spatula. There was an arsenal of punishments at the hands of my parents. I think I turned out just fine, and I still love my parents for the most part.

Maybe the hot sauce is a bit much for a kid, don’t want to permanently damage the tongue, but I think we are being too nice to kids. It’s no wonder why a lot of kids these days are little assholes. You know it’s true. Kids are a lot bolder these days because they know they have nothing to be afraid of. Kids are well aware of Child Protective Services and use that against parents. It’s almost funny, but not quite. I say bring back giving your kid a good swat to the butt and put a little more fear in them.

I am only 24, but when I was a kid in elementary school, I was terrified of the older kids. Now the 4th graders talk like seniors and act 7th graders. There annoying, bold, and are smart at getting away with things.

Third and last point...Parents stop letting your kids do whatever the hell they want. Stop buying cell phones for them when they are 6 years old, stop treating them like little babies when they are no long little babies, and stop telling everyone how great your kid is, because honestly, they are not that great. (Unless they cured cancer, which that would be pretty neat)

In the Beginning...

This is a blog I hope to keep up on and share my opinions on what/how I see the world. This will range from the dumb stuff that happens in the entertainment world that we as a society love, to just everyday topics such as politics, stupid people in the news, or basically whatever I can think of that I see fitting to rant about. I encourage all people that read these posts to comment your opinion, especially if you think I am wrong. I would love to argue with you even if I am wrong and I know it. There is a big part of me that loves to be an antagonist. So please do not be shy, and I will not be offended by anything you say, although I will not guarantee you will feel the same about my words.