At the end of every summer, financial stresses begin to pop up. This is even more true for this summer. Each year, Penn State likes to raise the tuition. This year, they raised it twice. They also like to take away grants without explaining why. This year, I lost the Pell Grant, which usually nets me an extra $3,500 - $4,000 for the year. Thanks.
On top of this, I’ve saved almost nothing this summer. And that’s not for a lack of trying. Minimum wage, even when working 40 hours a week, can only amount to so much in two months, especially when I’m still paying rent on an apartment over the summer while not living there AND putting a deposit down on a new apartment. By the time classes start, all I’ll have to show is enough to buy books for the Fall semester. And the job situation back at school isn’t much brighter. So far, the manager has only managed to find two shifts a week for me, and probably at reduced pay. But at least it’s a job.
And that’s not the best part. My computer is pretty much on its last leg. The problem has only gotten worse sense it first manifested itself a week or so ago. Now, anytime the CPU goes over 50 degrees Celsius, it shuts off, and the fan has stopped working. Right now, I’m writing this with a bag of ice underneath it, keeping it cool enough to stay on. I applied for the credit card Apple offers, but of course, was denied. Even my father was denied, largely due to the extra amount he’s had to take out on loans since I lost the grant money (around $150,000 in Parent Plus loans total between my brother and sister and I).
There was supposed to be a silver lining to all of this. I’m due for a settlement with our car insurance company, AllState, after my car accident, but like everything else this summer, they’ve gone and ignored us for almost a year now. I received one call from our claim handler, only to be ignored for the last two weeks again. Nothing is getting resolved, and they hold all the power by simply ignoring me. The agent is apparently on vacation until this coming Monday, so I’m hoping to make some kind of progress before classes start then, just incase some good news can still come out of this summer.
But even with all of this, I feel fine. I’m trying not to stress out, and so far I’m succeeding. It just feels good to vent a little bit. This happens at the end of every summer, and I’ve made it through all of them. This can’t be any different, right?
August 11, 2009, 8:22pm
