Mindy Carlson

March is a complicated month, as I mentioned in my newsletter.

This March has the added stress of waiting for college acceptances and then learning that since you can afford 2 toppings on your pizza you clearly don’t need financial aid.

We sent an appeal to one of the college we’ve been accepted at and got literally *zero* aid from and got a response I’m paraphrasing as Too Bad, So Sad.

It’s frustrating. We’ve saved for his entire life and we can basically afford to pay for 1.5 years at his top choice. College seem to expect parents to remortgage their houses, gut any college fund for the additional children, and cash in their 401Ks in order to pay for a quality education. (Yes, he’s applying for scholarships daily.)

You can say, “Well, just go where you can afford. College is a privilege. It’s not necessary.” However, a college degree is necessary. According to a 2022 article in Money Magazine,

“the median annual wage for a full-time worker ages 22 to 27 with a high school diploma is $30,000. For a full-time worker with a bachelor’s degree, it’s $52,000.”

And that gap only grows over time. So, yes, going to college is pretty darn important, and that’s why more colleges should be actually affordable to all human beings, and we shouldn’t have to take out a loan against our homes and retirement to pay for it.

Don’t even get me started on the Student Loan racket. Loans are not aid. They are entry to indentured servitude.

But onto happier topics!

At the beginning of the year, I decided to participate in something called “24 in 2024.”  It’s a Bingo card full of items you want to do in the coming year. I filled mine with a few projects, adventures, and events I thought would be fun.

For example, “Curl in a Bonspiel.” A fun adventure I achieved when I curled in the Child’s Women’s Bonspiel in February. And I put a stamp on it.

As you can see, each square isn’t filled. I’m tired, people. I need ideas. I’ve already got a tattoo, I have all the piercings I want, and I’m not interested in filling a square with a year-long goal such as “walk every day” or “learn a language.”

Give me ideas!