2/25/2022 - I've busted my ass over the past 12 months.
In the past 12 months, I've paid off almost $57,000 of student loan debt. As of today, February 25, 2022, I have $3,599 left to pay off. When I think about what I've accomplished so far, in such a short amount of time, I am astounded. With an unexpected check from work today and payday next week, my student loan debt will be eliminated by this time next week.
I am on the precipice.
Part of me feels emotional. Overwhelmed. I have put my entire being into this endeavor; it has become my drive, a defining characteristic of who I am. I am about to accomplish something massive. A huge weight is soon to be removed.
Another part of me feels depression. My motivation is about to disappear. The carrot will vanish soon. What now? Why do I feel somewhat empty? What's my next goal? Where will the drive come from?
I've busted my ass this year. So much energy, focus and discipline has gone towards achieving this personal goal. So much, in fact, that I'm burnt out. I am sleeping more. I'm having thoughts of looking for a new job (or simply quitting). Every aspect of the full-time job, the sole reason I moved to Bishop in the first place, has become tedious and irritating. Frustration bubbles just under the surface, like a lake of lava. After a year and a half on the job, it's safe to say I don't enjoy it.
So, thoughts have shifted towards how I can improve the situation. What would I rather do? This is a difficult question, because I've never enjoyed work. I do it because it pays the bills. I don't work because I have a passion for it.
3/8 - I did it.
I'm debt free. The student loan is gone forever. I'm done.
I just paid off $60k in only 13 months. I have impressed myself.
3/25 - My loan service provider sent me a letter today that said my loans have been paid in full.
I am officially debt free.
While I'm still burnt out and exhausted more than three weeks after the final payment cleared, I am happy. This was a humungous accomplishment. I impressed myself with the amount of focus and self discipline I used to kill the debt. I initially attacked the debt simply because I was tired of thinking about it; the knowledge that I was in debt was always in the back of my mind, like a fungus. What I did not foresee was the major boost in self-confidence as a result of such a huge accomplishment.
If I can do something like this, I can do a whole lot of other things!
The loan debt was one of the last remaining links to my year at Bournemouth University in England in 2014-15. That year remains the greatest accomplishment in my life, and I am no longer held down by the debt I put myself into to make it happen. The year in England is now just a fond memory of my 20s.
Though I rarely write in this blog anymore, the blog was originally started as a way for me to keep friends and family up to date on my experiences in a new country. The loan money was mentioned in several of those early entries, including the second one overall on Sept. 26, 2014.
The past 14 months of my life going back to Feb. 3, 2021 have been difficult. There have been few times in my life that have exhausted me the way this debt repayment journey has. It's not often that I say I deserve something, but I deserve a break from work and a long rest. Fortunately I have a week off from work rapidly approaching; it's looking more and more like I'll have a staycation here in Bishop.
Now that one chapter of my life has ended, the next one begins. Here is where I must think of a new goal to achieve. Without a new goal, I will miss having drive and motivation. Over the past few months, I've learned that I am a goal-oriented person who thrives when trying to reach a new goal. I loved seeing the progress I made on the debt; I felt like I was gaining momentum. Now I must look elsewhere for that feeling.
One goal of mine is to visit Australia. I nearly traveled to Australia two years ago, but that trip was slaughtered by the Covid-19 pandemic that brought the whole world to a grinding halt. But the time has come for me to travel internationally again; I must break in the brand-new passport that was supposed to be used for that Australia trek two years ago. Planning will be expensive, as the debt repayment has left me damn near broke.
Another goal of mine is to get my photography website fully functioning by the time I turn 32 years old. This site will act as a portfolio of sorts, something I can show to prospective clients. Eventually, I'd like to photograph full time.
A third goal of mine is to climb Mt. Tom, the Sierra Nevada peak that towers over Bishop at more than 13,600 feet, by the end of this year. I am out of shape, but I will make it happen.
