Personal Narrative: My Pursuit Of The American Dream

I know, as an American, It is my responsibility to pay back any debt I owe. I also believe that I live in a country where fairness and the pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness is a fundamental right. Several years ago I attend Alabama A&M University to help me in my pursuit of the American dream. With bright eyes and an open mind, I set out on a quest to become the first male in my immediate family to graduate with a Degree from a 4-year University. I was the last of six children (5 boys and 1 girl) that my parents had. I was reared by a truly wonderful and loving Mother and an uncompromisingly stern Father who stayed in love and marriage until God called one of His angel’s home. My Mother died when I was 15 years old (a devastating lost for me), which left me to be raised
by my Father. My Father was now left with the task of raising and nurturing a teenage boy who was at the peak of exploration and rebellion. My Father was brought up on a farm, and was only able to complete the eighth grade before having to work to help the family.
Nevertheless, my father always kept a subscription to the local newspaper, where he taught himself how to read at a functional level. As my senior year in high school approached I made it clear to my Father that I wanted to attend College after I graduated. With only one income in the home, the biggest question for my Father was "where is the money for college coming from"? For so many Americans in this situation the answer leads to only one source, STUDENT LOANS. I will never forget the meeting where an agent came to our house to explain the loans available to students and how the process worked. The numbers had my dad rubbing his head trying to figure out the astronomically high prices for a college education. But because he knew that this is what I really wanted, he signed off on a loan that I still have to pay today. As fate would have it, my Father was not able to witness his son receive his college degree. My Father passed away during my sophomore year in college. Now more determined than ever to finish my college education, I was totally reliant on student
loans. Thankfully I did graduate from college with a degree, but yes indeed I was in debt. It also didn't help that my first job after college (which took several months to attain) was an elementary school computer lab teacher. The job paid slightly above minimum wage which left me with nothing after paying my rent and bills. During this time I learned to put my loans in deferment and forbearance. Regrettably, I made my share of financial mistakes, but I think that taking out student loans may have been the biggest one to date. I was told that putting my loan in Forbearance would still mean that interest would continue to accrue on the loan. I just didn't know that the interest was considered "compound interest" and what that would mean in reference to paying back the loan. It in essence means that if you are not in a position to pay your student loans off without putting them on hold interest free, you will end up pay more money (MUCH MORE) than you originally took out. I do understand that there should be some return on investment when it comes to giving someone money that they must pay back over time. But I can’t understand why compound interest (in any form) is being used on people who are striving to educate themselves so they can be viable and productive contributors to our workforce and our community. I consider myself a responsible and fair-minded person who has no problem paying back what I owe with some interest tacked on; yet “Compound Interest” (and my lack of understanding how it works) has drastically increased what I have to pay back. Therefore I would like to state what I think would be a fair and equitable solution for my current loan situation as well as past, present, and future student loan borrowers that will be faced with the same dilemma.
Students should be required to pay back the face value of the loan times 10% interest (fixed) up to 5 years. After 5 years, students will be required to pay back the face value of the loan times 20% interest (fixed) and that all. I feel this will still turn a positive and favorable profit for the lenders while also eliminating the swelling debt owed over a length of time caused by Compound Interest. This will convey that no matter how bad your post education situation becomes or how long it may last, your student loan responsibilities will not continue to grow over the life of the loan. With more and more student graduating to the reality they might not make much money after graduation, this would surely be considered a welcome relief. We owe this to all decent, hard-working Americans that felt (and still feel) higher education is the key to success. A student loan based education should be what it was intended to be; a way to help American pursue their dreams, not a welcome mat to the world of perpetual debt.