I Really Got $65,000 of My Student Loans Paid Off
I almost gave up, here’s a short reflection on my journey
You can read more about my experience here: Writing About My Father’s Suicide Put Me Through College
“I’m not gon lie and portray this ultimate poise like I been had it figured out. Nah, I just didn’t quit” — Nipsey Hussle, 2019
I never wanted to drop out of school until my senior year of college. Like my first senior year, not the second one. I lost my scholarship. Kept sneaking in the dorm suites to have somewhere to stay — Got kicked out at least three times. Slept on a friend’s couch for months. Started a moving company to have money to eat. And do what I needed to do.
Left the friend’s house, slept in the Morehouse laundry room. One great alum let me stay at his home for a couple of nights, instead of blowing up the air mattress I chose to sleep on the floor just so I could bounce up and grind the next day.
I had to QUIT MY JOB at Jimmy Jazz, a local retail store, to convince my scholarship foundation that I had more hours to study and get my grades back up. This was mid-semester, so I would go on to lose the scholarship AGAIN the next semester because I didn’t finish well under that pressure.
I wanted to give up on school so badly because I knew I was not graduating on time.
I did not get an apartment until homecoming week. I did not get a bed until November. And that was only HALF the mental battle I had in the fall of 2017. I wanted to give up on school so badly because I knew I was not graduating on time. My grades declined and I knew graduate school was dead for me.
It’s a painful march, but if you’re reading this don’t quit. Situations change but you really never know what blessing(s) await you when you finish. Strategize, plan, and push! Pace and push.
