Flashback four years when I was a homeowner, growing bored of my job at work, at a point in life when I needed to make a change or I would explode. At the time one of my closest friends was pondering her MBA and while chatting (gossiping) on the treadmill I decided that was just the thing I needed to light a fire in my life again. I mean, I wasn't married, without children and the person I was in a relationship with at the time worked nights so it was the perfect storm of events to solve my dilemma. You can guess what happened next - maybe not.  I got promoted at work, and with that a shitstorm of added responsibility I had been vying for - was not quite the ideal since I was taking two classes at the time, plus I still worked BOTH positions till my replacement was chosen + hired + trained. To fathom that I was overstressed is a complete and total understatement (this is were my Starbucks addiction was born).

It was super sunny outside - hence the squint

Fast forward to commencement - a warm, sunny day brimming with promise when I walked across the stage in front of my family and closest friends and received my diploma. The feeling was in a word - unforgettable. Looking back at that lost 25 year old and all the events that have transpired since then make me smile in wonder with every memory.  Had I not been exactly where I was four years ago - at a place in my life when I desperately needed a change, I would not have been through all the experiences, both good and not so good that make me the woman I am today.

Now that you are filled with warm fuzzies and wonderment, let me tell you another story. Student Loans are the bain of my existence. I wholeheartedly believe that the Federal Government likes to use buzz words like "consolidation", "special loan", and "rate reduction", but honestly believe to the depths of my being that they have some bored intern locked in a windowless room thumbing through the Thesaurus for catchy words that draw attention yet mean - NOTHING.