I started working at 14 at a telemarketing firm. During this time I did a stint at an ice cream parlor. At 16 I worked at Toys я Us and a local pharmacy named "Drug Fair" and, at 17, I worked a non-union demolition job. At 18 I worked the overnight at Target and once university started I worked first as a research assistant and later as a systems operator until graduation.

I list all of this here to establish that, from a relatively young age, I (1) knew the meaning of a dollar and (2) was never shy of working.

With all of this being said, I can state with absolute certainty that, as a first generation college student, I had NO IDEA in 2006 what the numbers in front of me represented.

"$30K/year with room and board? OK, that doesn't seem too bad. The starting salary range for my desired career is $70-99K."

Add to all of this the stress about what the forthcoming workload would be like and the fact that most of my peers were taking on similar loans and I feel that I can cut my younger self some slack for paying $120K for an education.