Skiing in Haiti
Moonlighting. Fourth year med students have an opportunity to pick up a little extra cash by picking up a shift here or there. I myself chose to work everyday. There is a certain high to seeing your bank account swell with non-loan money. So when a classmate asked if I wanted to go to Haiti and volunteer my services I said no and didn’t think twice.
Then I read an obnoxious facebook post when a first class med student aka the son of a doctor – where the pompous ass was talking about how he was giving up a ski trip to go to Haiti. It was particularly a sacrifice since he grew up in Egypt and had only recently seen snow for the first time.
I knew the bastard was doing it to put him over the hump for the Mass General residency he wanted – but my anger was directed at his debt or lack thereof.
One of the things our debt does to us is it allows us to justify doing what we know is wrong. Then when others point out our flaws we hide behind our debt saying they cannot judge until they feel this weight on our shoulders.
So obviously I wouldn’t have posted if I hadn’t reconsidered. With people of different nationalities, beliefs and political leanings working together to treat those in need I think I can get over my debt self-pity and work side by side with a trust fund kid.
As a person who’s father paid for medical school…I want to point something out. I don’t deny that I’m supremely lucky and don’t have to carry debt. That being said, I have to watch my spending FAR more than any of my debt riddled friends, as every dollar I might spend on groceries etc. come from a very visible source. Additionally, I worked at any point I could to help alleviate that debt and cover costs (RA through college, worked at a lab, high school teacher for a year, etc. etc). Now I readily admit knowing douchebag trust fund style kids who everything is paid for, but I also know plenty who are in the same boat as me.
The key to all this is to recognize a different way of going about things. While yet my dad paid for it all, the expectation is for me to save up to pay for my own children’s debt if I have any down the road. It’s brilliant in that it eliminates having to pay interest to others in the process. The catch is obviously that at some point someone has to have done well enough to not incur debt as well as afford to pay, or help pay, their children’s expenses.