I was a ward of the state, emancipated minor and 17 years old when I signed my name to student loans. I got a partial ride on merit, and as a legal orphan, it was a miracle I even got to go to college.

Do you think I should have been required, or allowed, to take on $50k of debt in order to educate myself? Without college, I would have been an ever higher risk youth. I was accepted to Ivy League schools too, but ended up at state school after speaking with Yale financial aid and learning that $30k/year was inaccessible for me.

Not a worry though, I am on disability for PTSD now and was approved for TPD (Total and Permanent Disability) 100% discharge of loans via SSDI and Dept. of Ed — so I now owe nothing, but the flip side is I can’t work for the next three years.

It’s almost like accessibility to educational opportunities for youth would create a better trajectory than ending up on disability 20 years later.

Oh, and my mom was a cop, part of why I refused foster care = ACAB.