Highs and Lows

The TV in the corner

7/6/2015

My roommates and I have a slight dilemma. A week ago, one of my roommates bought a new giant plasma TV, which of course, was to the delight of my other roommate and I. It replaced a smaller TV that looked like it was manufactured some time during the Cold War and from what my roommates had told me (I moved into the apartment last week), it had a knack for only working half of the time. We welcomed the TV into our lives like the way you welcome any new friend into your life- you have a few beers and enjoy their company. And that's exactly what we did. We got to know our new friend by playing videos games and watching movies.

All was good until we realized after a few days tha the old TV was still hanging out in the corner of the room, on top of a small table, taking up a good portion of our living area. I started thinking, we should just throw it out, but then I thought, can you just throw out a TV? And then that sparked several other questions, like, can you just throw away iPods, iPhones, electronics in general? I remember my mom once harping on me for putting used batteries in the trash, but I never understood why and I never invested much effort into finding out the answer. I'm not sure she knew the answer either, she just knew it couldn't be good for the environment. Or maybe there were other reasons. Either way, as of recently I had still been throwing away my used batteries in the trash (even my mom's words in my head couldn't stop me) and not until this little TV became a decorative centerpiece in our living room did I start to really think about recycling electronics safely and responsibly. -Will

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Keeping Up with New Federal Student Loan Policy Changes

11/3/2011

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Hey all, today I just wanted to drop a note on the changes that have taken place regarding Federal Student Loans. Last week President Obama passed new legislature affecting people with Federal Student Loans. This article by Ron Lieber of the The New York Times explains in detail the changes that will be going into effect.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/27/your-money/student-loans/explaining-new-federal-student-loan-rules.html?_r=1&scp=3&sq=student%20loan%20forgiveness&st=cse

Essentially, if you have Federal Student Loans you will be able to consolidate them into one loan. However, if you have private loans, the new law will not have any impact on them.

As I start exploring Student Loan Debt more this month, I want to share with you the places I've discovered while digging. Some great resources so far have been:

FinAid.org
http://www.finaid.org/

Project on Student Debt
http://projectonstudentdebt.org/

Coming up soon, we'll take a look at the argument that Student Loan Forgiveness is a horrible economic policy. Is it really? We'll explore soon. Keep chipping away at that debt!

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All Debt November

10/30/2011

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It's been a few weeks again since posting, so we're due for something new. November is right around the corner and while many people will be recovering from Halloween parties and many young men will begin their quest for the biggest No Shave November beard, we here at World Zeal are going to dedicate November to talking about Student Loan Debt.

Some interesting facts right off the bat about Student Loan Debt in America:
(All information was taken from the American Student Assistance webpage)

In each school year between 2000–2001 and 2006–2007, an estimated 60% of bachelor’s degree recipients borrowed to fund their education. Average debt per borrower rose 18%, from $19,300 to $22,700 over this time period. Average debt per bachelor’s degree recipient increased from $10,600 to $12,400. (Source: The College Board, Trends in Student Aid, 2008)
In 2007–2008, lenders provided about $17 billion in private loans, a 592% increase from a decade earlier.(Source: The College Board, Trends in Student Aid, 2008)
In 2008, 84% of undergraduates had at least one credit card, up from 76% in 2004. The average number of cards has grown to 4.6 per student, and half of college students had four or more cards. (Source: Sallie Mae, How Undergraduate Students Use Credit Cards, 2009)
Undergraduates are carrying record-high credit card balances. The average (mean) balance grew to $3,173, the highest in the years the study has been conducted. Median debt grew from 2004's $946 to $1,645. 21% of undergraduates had balances of between $3,000 and $7,000, also up from the last study.
(Source: Sallie Mae, How Undergraduate Students Use Credit Cards, 2009)

So in a nutshell, 3 out of 5 people have to ask for some sort of help funding their higher education. Frankly, I was surprised this ratio wasn't higher. The majority of people my age I talk to had to take out some sort financial loans and are still paying them back. However, even though 3 out of 5 doesn't sound horrible to me, it's not an encouraging number, especially considering that the average debt per borrower is a litte more than $12,000. $12,000 added to whatever credit card debt a typical student is racking up means the majority of degree earning students are leaving school with incredible amounts of debt. Living in Europe, whenever I mention to locals that most kids my age leave university with debts in the thousands of dollar range, they usually look at me with a clueless look, as if saying with their faces, "Why would you do that?". Hopefully this month I'll be able to do some research and compare the European university model and the American model. I think it will be interesting to see the differences between our systems.

So, November is coming upon us and it's time we start taking a look into a very serious issue in America, Student Loan Debt. Stay tuned for some interesting stuff! Now go to work and start paying back those loans!

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Starting a Blog/Website

10/10/2011

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So it´s been awhile since the last blog post and I´m quickly finding out that it´s not as easy to keep up with blogging as I thought it would be. I´ve got a lot to say, however, putting it into words sometimes feels more like a pain than pleasure. I am convinced though that starting this project is a good idea. After talking with friends and people my age, it seems like we´re all looking for a way to let out the frustrations and doubts we have, as well as share with others the hopes that we would like to see come to fruition. The recent Occupy Wall Street movement (if it can be called that), whether you are in support or against, is a sign that young people, as well as older people, are not content with the current financial system we live in. For those of us not living near where the physical protests are happening or are not up to starting our own Occupy Wherever groups, the internet is a place where our frustrations and hopes can be laid out. ´So this is the beginning of what I hope will be a fun and englightening project. If you´re young and have something to say (in an educated and respectful manner), this could be a place for you to share your thoughts. Although there may not be many jobs out there, there is still plenty of work we can do.

As a side note, hopefully soon we´ll have an interview coming with a good friend of mine who has been participating in the Occupy Wall Street movement. Be on the lookout for it.

Enjoy the day!
WB

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The Joys of Fitness

8/9/2011

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¡Bienvenidos al Blog! Welcome to the Blog!

The first post will be the hardest. At least that's what I'm hoping. I thought for the first post here on Highs and Lows, it would only be appropriate to write about the joys of fitness and the benefits of exercise. The title of the blog comes from the desire to better understand myself. Throughout each day, I go through highs and lows. Whether it be emotional highs and lows, self-image highs and lows or plain old unexplainable highs and lows, it's always a struggle to find a nice balance. One of the best ways I manage these fluctuations is through exercise.

If you're like me, motivation to go the gym doesn't come from a built-in microchip. A lot of days, convincing myself to get to the gym takes longer the actual time I spend working out. But, after all the time spent convincing myself to workout, it's always worth it. I've been playing soccer since I was a little kid and sports have always played an important role in my life, but after high school and years of running endless miles as a JV cross-country runner, I thought, "I've had enough!". I was ready to finally relax and gain some weight. (I'm 6'1"-6'2" and my senior year of high school I weighed about 150-155lbs) After my first two years of college, I'd finally put on some weight (I weighed around 170-175lbs). I spent a good amount of time lifting weights and I had cut out most types of cardio training. However, there was one problem. The weight I had put on wasn't healthy weight. Although I was lifting weights, my daily diet consisted of not eating breakfast, 2-3 sodas and at least one frozen pizza. Yes, a whole frozen pizza a day! I went from a skinny and toned, athletic build, to a normal weight but looked like I had big arms and small boobs. I was happy to have gained weight, but as a naturally insecure person when it comes to my physical appearance, I wasn't too happy about having A-cups. It was time to make a change.

Since my junior year of college I've tried to run, lift weights or do some sort of phsyical activity multiple times a week. So far I've done pretty well. I don't think Men's Health magazine will be knocking on my door any time soon to interview me about my workout routine, but that's not really my goal anyways. The real goal has simply to stay consistent and prove to myself that I can be dedicated to something. One of the most gratifying feelings for me is a good lift or run after several months in a row of sticking to a routine. Not only does the physical high from exercising feel good, but the sense of accomplishment you feel from sticking to something you set your mind to, is a high for me in itself. As an anxious person by nature, there are few better moments in my day than after a long run or a game of soccer, when I'm laying on the ground, completely exhausted. It's one of the few times in the day when my mind is completely shut off from thinking. I'm just there on the ground, focused on breathing. All the worries or thoughts I had in mind before starting to run take a back seat to the need for oxygen to get back into my brain.

The funny thing about exercise is that after exhausting your body, you leave the gym full of energy. Maybe your legs are a little tired or don't feel as light as they did before you exercised, but your mind is alert, and in my case, much more alert than before I exercise. I was talking with my roommate Rúben today and he mentioned the same thing. He told me he was going to go to the pool to swim with a slight look of depression on his face. I told him, "You look really excited to go." He replied with a yawn, "I know, right. But I always feel amazing after I go. I have to go." Exercise is a strange activity in that sense. You can dread doing it, but you know once you do do it, you'll leave thinking, "How could I have even thought about not exercising today?" The release of endorphins your brain receives does incredible things to the mind. If you're like me, a bit anxious in general, doing any sort of exercise can make a world of difference between having a stressful day and a calm, normal day. Some days it's not the answer to all my problems, but it always puts me in a better mood and I always leave feeling like no matter what, I accomplished something during my day.

That's all for now from Highs and Lows. Get out there and do some exercise. Whether you're a first-timer, not knowing where to start or a professional runner, get going! You can run 10 miles or you can walk up and down a flight of stairs in your apartment building. Every little bit makes a difference. And if you're lacking some motivation, this video hopefully will make you inspired. If he can do this, exercising for a half

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As a kid I moved all over the country due to my dad being in the Army. I had the good fortunate to see a lot of the US and even spent 3 years in Germany when I was young, which my parents made sure my brother and I saw different parts of Europe. All of that moving and travelling led me to studying International Studies (IS) and Spanish in college at the University of Iowa. In May of 2010, I graduated with B.A.s in both IS and Spanish and an International Business Certificate. On the surface, that all looks great, but as I soon found out, applying for jobs with abstract, theoretical-based degrees, I wasn't quite suited for any particular job. My skill set invloved reading theoretical texts on human rights issues, speaking a somewhat decent Spanish, and basic knowledge of international finance. Again, that sounds great, but I didn't have any practical skills to bring to the table. After being shut down by all the companies that I applied to during my last semester of college- I say shut down not because I was told they weren't interested in me, they just never responded back to my cover letters and emails- I decided to apply for a teaching English position in Spain. Not having any teaching experience, I applied to a program run by the Spanish Ministry of Education that contracts people from all over the world to come and work as language assistants that work alongside language teachers in elementary schools, high schools, and in higher education settings. The only requirements needed are any type of Bachelor's degree, a good bill of health and not have committed a serious crime. Luckily, I fulfilled all of those (they didn't catch me!) and spent the last year, from October to June, working in a city called La Coruña, in the northwest part of Spain.

At the moment I'm unemployed and without health insurance, however, I do have another contract as an English language assistant that begins on October 1st, this time in a suburb of Madrid, Spain. As I'm writing this, I'm in the process of finding an apartment in Madrid and plan on making Madrid my home until my contract runs out at the end of June, 2012. Over the course of the next year, I'll be trying to shed light on the economic issues going on over here in Spain and in Europe in general. Even though I have a job, I'm like any other recent college graduate, broke, scraping by, and from time to time, relying on help from my family. I've got the good fortune of having a supportive family amidst these turbulent economic times. However, like other, middle-class kids, I struggle with the guilt of having to ask for help from my parents, even when they're eager to help. I hope this blog and project can be a place where all of these issues are confronted and explored.

Cheers to All,
Will

The TV in the corner

Keeping Up with New Federal Student Loan Policy Changes

All Debt November

Starting a Blog/Website

The Joys of Fitness

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