College Is SO Expensive...

Today as I was preparing for the fall semester to start up, I decided to figure up how much college really costs. Of course, there's books and tuition that everyone thinks of, but there is SO much more that goes into it than just that. Room and board, food, gas to and from classes, the time it takes, parking permits, project supplies, laptops, printers, paper, and the list goes on and on...

It's very difficult to be working a full-time job and going to school at the same time, but what choice do I have? I don't see how it would be fiscally possible to go to school full time and not go into some pretty crazy debt! Here are a few numbers I put together for the average full-time student (assuming they're taking 12 credit hours, but many students take way more than that):

Tuition: $1,400
Books: $600-800
Rent (5 months): $2,500
Utilities/Bills (5 months): $1,300
Gas/Commuting Expenses: $1,000
Parking Permit/Student Fees: $75
Groceries/Food: $1,300

Even if those were the only items that were necessary to succeed in college, not counting all the miscellaneous expenses like clothing and printer cartridges and all that other good stuff, we're already talking $8,375 for ONE semester! If a driven college student can finish in 8 semesters, you're looking at $67,000 to receive an education and a piece of paper that says you either know what you're talking about or you were lucky and sat by the girl who knew what she was talking about.

To me, $67,000 is a heck of a lot of money just for a diploma that will mean I can maybe make a little bit more money on my salary every year. In my situation, I'll probably only get a raise of $3,000 per year when I graduate. That means that in 22 years, I'll start reaping the benefits of my college education, because it won't be until then that I'll be making enough money to offset the expenses that my bachelors degree cost me... I am one of the lucky few who don't actually have to worry about incurring alot of student debt. But for those of you out there that do, I feel your pain!

Yours (but with very little money),

Rachel E. Mawhirter

Only in America...

Today was a fabulous day... After sleeping in, finishing up some homework assignments, and spending time with my husband's family, we headed out to the family farm for the annual fourth of july celebration. The smell of the propane grill, smoldering smoke bombs, and aerosol mosquito spray filled the air while we enjoyed our delicious feast of home-grown corn, grilled hamburgers, and crisp veggies. After dinner, the makeshift firework show the kids put on kept us entertained while we dished up hot gooey brownies and vanilla ice cream for the whole family.

After we had cleaned up the elaborate mess of firework debris, Justin and I headed home for the night. But as we drove over the flood control road, the most amazing view of the fireworks over Great Bend became visible and we decided to stop. Together, we sat on my car and watched the whole of Great Bend as one big firework show. I don't know if it was his arm around my shoulder or the dim glow that the sparkly fireworks made on his profile, but something about that moment was incredibly romantic. When we finally decided to head home, I continued to look over the city and realized how similar the sporatic bursts of light must be to a wartime bombing. Being independence day, this probably meant a lot more to me than it would any other time of the year. It made me really appreciate the fact that we live in a country free of bombings or violence like that. I consider myself to be an extremely lucky person, and today solidified that feeling for me.

Just like that country song, Only in America, there are so many things like this that make our country the greatest country in the entire world. I am so grateful for my family, my home, my husband, and the life that I have undeservedly been blessed with.

One of those days...

There are some days that you can't wait to get home, throw down your purse, kick off your shoes, and sleep away the stress and the worries... Or maybe drink them away, depending on who you are. But it's days like today that make those kinds of days all worthwhile. Today I had one of the most exceptional days I've had in a long time. There really wasn't any one thing that stands out in my mind as the defining moment. It was more a combination of everything that happened that will place this day in my mind forever. If I HAD to define it, I would probably say that it started at 10:30 - that was when I realized that I was sleeping in on a Saturday, and with my husband! Some people might not consider that to be an exceptional experience, but until today I can't remember a time that my husband and I have slept in together on a Saturday.

After that high had worn off, the fact that we got to go grocery shopping together was equally fabulous. Maybe it was feeling his hand on the small of my back while we debated about which flavor of ice cream to buy or maybe it was placing bets with him on how much our cart full of food would total at the register. Honestly, I can't really tell you what it was, but I don't really care.

Watching him mow OUR yard, watching him sort OUR laundry, watching him watch me... I guess I never realized how important moments like that really are. But then to top it all off, riding around on his motorcycle holding onto his strong arms with my life in his hands made me realize that there really isn't anyone I would trust with my future more than my baby.

Like I said, days like today make a person realize why it's necessary for everyone to experience stress. Whether it be a Saturday like mine, a weekend getaway, or even just a peaceful moment in the midst of a stressful day, everyone can appreciate the good times a little more when its set apart from the norm.

Here's to wishing every day could be as good as today...

The best of friends...

Have you ever realized that sometimes your best friends aren't the people you spend the most time with? I've been realizing lately that the people who I can depend on the most heavily aren't my "best friends" or my co-workers. Instead, they're the people who have never been rude to me, the ones who always go out of their way to be there when I need them. It's so cliche, but I used to despise people who said "true friends are there when you need them," because I really had never encountered an experience where I was depending on friends... that is, until recently.

It has come to my attention that I am long overdue for a friend check-up. Unless you have called or text me in the last three months, you are no longer one of my close friends. If you don't know what month my birthday is in, you are no longer one of my close friends. If you didn't know that I got married over year ago, you are no longer one of my close friends. And the end-all determining factor is that if you're not my friend on facebook, well then that's just pathetic because I have friends on facebook that are literally strangers to me! I think you get the point: I'm sick of having a phone full of fake friends. From now on, I'm going to conserve my friendly energy for those of my friends who mean the most to me, who are there for me when I need them, and who value my efforts...

Wish me luck...

Rachel M.
6-23-09

My first blog ever!

Dear cyberspace,

Now that I have the ability to share all my thoughts with the rest of the world, my mind goes blank. Probably the main reason for that is because my mind is totally consumed with the Twilight Series right now, and it's hard to think of much else. I start the second book tonight, and will probably have it finished before I blog again. I'd just like to take this opportunity so say that if Edward Cullen were a real person, he'd be the most sought-after bachelor in the world... It's too bad my husband can't take a few lessons from him. If he could act half as alluring as Edward, I'm sure I'd be obsessed with him too, even if he doesn't sparkle.

Until next time,

Rachel M.