Young life is too precious to lose.
Credit: Click Art | ©Broderbund
A Tragedy Waiting to Happen
Willow was a beautiful, spirited, passionate, and intelligent young girl who seemed to have her whole life mapped out ahead of her. She was enjoying her second year of college and beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. She worked part time as a waitress to help pay her college tuition. She worked hard; often taking on extra shifts to help out others who needed (or just wanted) the time off. On her free weekends she would go home and spend time with her parents and friends. Her smile lit up any room into which she entered. Her laughter pealed through the air like the music of angels. Everyone loved her. Everyone! That is, except for Willow herself.Like many other college students Willow had gotten in over her head with regard to credit card debt. She didn't mean to and she never wanted to. However, she was very young and the consequences of her actions were simply not clear to her. So one day when the creditors wouldn't stop calling and she could no longer bear the thought of the disappointment she would see in her parents' eyes, Willow hung herself in her dorm room.
Willow was the sister of my son's best friend. She spent a lot of time at our house over the years. She was sweet. She was kind. She was exactly the type of girl you wanted your son to meet and fall in love with. No, she wasn't perfect, but she had so much to offer the world. Her death profoundly affected our whole family. We simply could not believe that such a shinning light had been extinguished. We still feel the loss today.
- Credit Risk or Credit Worthy? College Students and Credit Cards: A National Survey.The Lure of Easy Credit Leaves More Students Struggling with Debt. The Chronicle of Higher EducationCredit Card Usage Continues among College Students. Nellie Mae web site: www.nelliemae.com/library/cc_use.htmlDealing with Student Credit Card Debt. About CampusHow Extreme Credit Card Debt Happens to the Smartest College Students by Lois Center-Shabazz at www.MsFinancialSavvy.comCredit Cards Teaching Students a Costly Lesson by Lucy Lazarony at Bankrate.com
Comments
Credit cards are a good thing when used correctly. Unfortunately, many college students abuse the privilege of credit. Great article!
Ramaswamy
(Guest)
(Guest)
05/27/2007
Good lessons for students in particular.Indiscriminate use of credit cards canbring discredit to the user. Write more of such articles in public inerest.
I'm 20 years old and have accumulated over $3,000 in credit card debt in just over a year. I'm trying not to use my cards now and use any money I get to pay them. I can't seem to find a steady job, not even at Christmas time. I think part of it was because of my limited availability due to college. I'm taking this next semester off to see if I can get a job now.
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