The above is where I presently live. It was taken at Summer’s End, 2008. My late father is standing there on the porch enjoying the last vestiges of strength at his disposal. As homes go, it is not the worst place to end up until winter hits. When that happens, all of that green, lush life just dies off into shades of brown, grey and dirty white.
It was never my intention to get trapped in Missouri. My girlfriend wants to move to California and frankly, so do I. But I face the same basic problem I have faced since 2001.
The student loan debt.
I owe roughly eighty thousand with interest. I keep it on deferment by taking six hours every fall and spring semester. From time to time, I try to work on one degree program or another, the last being a Graphic Design Associates which I abandoned once I started teaching.
If I leave, I can still get a deferment but then I have to pay out of state tuition while I establish residency. That can take a year to accomplish.
Pay it off? Sure, I’d need to get a job which could sustain me and pay the bills at the same time. Over the years of hunting, I have yet to find one that I am qualified for. PhDs are required for most history teaching positions. Certifications are required for all public school positions. Community college jobs are few, far between and still require PhDs. All of those things require more school which means more debt.
The same problem I have faced for years.
So what is the solution?
I honestly do not know.
Respects,
Steven Francis Murphy
Author of The Limb Knitter and Tearing Down Tuesday
Kansas City, Missouri
Source:
http://sfmurphy1971.wordpress.com/2013/01/17/the-home-front-a-cage/