Well, it's nearly impossible for me to differentiate myself from the thousands of others out there in similar situations as myself. I'm merely one of many, and I thought I'd take a new approach to trying to find ways out of this situation without absolving myself of any responsibility for the loans. I want to pay them off. It's my obligation to do so. However, I want to partake in the local economy, I want to use my money to help strengthen this country rather than help pad the big banks reserves, and I thought maybe there's a like minded individual on here who could work something out with me. I'm not looking for handouts, there's plenty of good charities in the world that need it more than I do. I'm looking for someone to work with me, help me help myself, and in doing so help the local and state economy.
I accrued this much debt because I went to a locally renowned Liberal Arts school for my CSci degree, something that ultimately got me a job that I am thankful for, but still is not nearly worth the burden of the loan payments. It's a bit of a perfect storm. Middle class family, but parents have their own debt so they didn't help at all. White guy with a 3.9 GPA, so I wasn't really breaking down the doors of any notable scholarships. Additionally.. growing up, I didn't know anything about how to handle money. It's clear to me now that my parents didn't either, but at the time I simply took their guidance as the word of law. My mom recommended to me that I not work while in school, so that I could focus 100% on my school work. Fine. My mom also recommended to me that I borrow the maximum allowable amount every semester, and that I store whatever leftover I have in my bank account. That way I can start paying off loans as soon as I graduate. Obviously, the logic is severely flawed and the math stupidly obvious. But I was young, and didn't know any better. If I had a do-over, I'd simply try my hand at learning code myself and then get a few certs. None of this 4 year $200,000 education business. The banks were very happy to throw the money at me, though.