Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Purging my emotions instead of working on my English paper

I should be cramming to finish my paper which examines the dream as a literary device in Jane Eyre, but instead I am writing here about what has been making my brain itch. Money, and the lack there of. I am terrible with it. It seems to disappear and it's not like I've been drinking every night. When I do drink I never have a tab of more than fifteen dollars. I've been pretty damn responsible lately and I still cannot account for the absence of my cash flow. And when you have to worry about if the rent will be paid, if the power will stay on, the status of your credit, and praying that the insurance will not be revoked on your car-- school becomes another degree of stressful. Then comes decision making. Do I need to scale back my level of involvement with the radio station? WKNC is my therapy. It is what makes me happy. After finishing my shift, knowing that maybe just one of the songs I played for my listeners made their day, made them beat on the steering wheel of their car and scream at the top of their lungs, is one of the best feelings I have ever felt. It's better than anything you could feel from any drug. But because of money I have to contemplate whether I need to get a job (because my disbursement of financial aid is long gone) and give up my time with the station (yes, DJs do not get paid) or stick it out; hoping that a financial fairy will come my way. And I am not alone in this financial predicament.

Erskine Bowles, president of the University of North Carolina system, has issued a 6.5 percent increase on tuition for the next four years- supposedly also placing a cap on the increase, but we'll see how that pans out as the great old north state endures a painful devirginizing introduction to the lottery. President Bush is giving tax cuts to the rich. The rich who give their children a gas guzzling SUV that cost on an average twice the amount of my college career. After tax cuts come the cuts in grant money for college student and the coinciding increase in interest rates on student loans. College is costing more and more for the middle class than ever before. Salaries for entry level jobs are decreasing. The odds are not in my favor.

Now back to that wonderful English paper- "In a close reading, analysis, and interpretation of a passage from Jane Eyre, insight can be gained into Bronte's use of the dream as a literary device."

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Kelly--

This great blogspot is definitely a place for folks to stop in if they want to be on the proverbial cutting edge of 21st Century change.

Congratulations and may you have great sailing ahead as you navigate the political and literary currents of Raleigh and North Carolina State!