Back in first year, I was completely paralyzed by my student loan debt. I spent money on food (barely) and necessary school supplies. Somewhere in second and third year, my fear about my ever-rising debt subsided and I certainly was less frugal with my money. Now, as a fourth year, the student loan debt I have accrued has reached a staggeringly high number, and I could not care less.
Perhaps over the last four years, I have just accepted the idea that this job comes with such a hefty price tag. During the first three years of didactic learning, it is slightly more difficult to see the end in sight, but as a fourth-year student things seem so much clearer. If there was any doubt in my past as to whether or not this was the right career for me, it has been replaced by new thoughts about residencies and job applications. I have never regretted my decision to attend veterinary school and the fact that I have such a rewarding and fulfilling career ahead of me truly has helped me get over the immense debt that weighed me down in first year.
In college, there were so many opportunities for me to follow different paths: paths that inevitably would have led me to more money, easier hours, and more emotional stability. However, those paths seem completely overgrown with weeds, as I have not even considered them as alternatives in so long. I am so deeply involved and passionate about the work I’m doing now that even student loan debt upward of $300,000 cannot bring me down.
But hey, if we are being honest, if someone were to donate to the “Tim Manzi debt relief fund” I would not be opposed.
