My first post is representative of what I want to accomplish with this blog. With this post, I chose three words that I want capture and frame. Framing is an idea or central storyline that organizes and provides meaning. It is a process in which certain facts, themes, treatments and words are selected to frame a story to maximize interest and understanding.

 

 

Awareness:

When most Americans hear the word “debt,” student loan is typically not the first type of debt that comes to mind. Many upcoming graduates are unaware of the student loan debt crisis that this country is facing. In his article for Forbes, Chris Denhart states that student loan debt accounts for 6% of the overall national debt. In 2013, the amount of student loan debt surpassed the amount of credit card debt. In this blog, I want to give college students the understanding of the severity of the debt situation. Every student that is able to attend college because of financial aid deserves to know the situation they’re going to be thrown in to when they graduate.

 

Knowledge:  

I come from a single parent household; I could not attend college if I did not take out student loans. As I stated in my first post, I believe that education is a right, not a privilege. As I realize that soon I’m going to have to start paying off my loans, I began to think about the cost of college. I want to provide other college students with the answers to the questions I have myself: why are loans so high? Why is college so expensive? Where does the money go?

 

Security:

College graduation should be a joyous time in a student’s life: their hard work over the past four (or more) years is over, they successfully completed their education and they are ready to begin a new chapter in their lives. Typically, when a student does graduate, they do so with an overwhelming sense of uncertainty: the uncertainty of finding a job, the possibility of working at a job that doesn’t relate to their field and that they don’t enjoy doing and the doubt of never paying off their student loans and always living under a cloud of debt. Through this blog, I want to provide students with a sense of security and confidence. While student loan debt is hugely daunting, it is manageable. They worked hard to get where they are, and they deserve to feel proud about it. 

 

I think that this image is very powerful and speaks directly to my topic. Here are students at their graduation ceremony, and they are already aware of the debt that is literally stacked against them. As I realize that I will be graduating in the next eight months, reality is starting to sink in for me. I understand that I will be paying off my loans in less than a year. From now until I graduate, I want to be as fully prepared as I could possibly be in the knowledge of student loans, and in the process, never lose hope that I won’t be buried under a pile of debt for the rest of my life.