Steph’s Admittedly Self-Experienced List of Problems with the World
1. In the US, health insurance isn’t about helping people pay for staying in good health; it’s about companies making money.
No, Obama’s plan certainly doesn’t want to allow everyone affordable insurance. I was deemed ineligible for any coverage through Obamacare, but fortunately since Alaska didn’t expand Medicaid, I won’t be fined the penalty! Haha, I’m part of the Rebel Alliance.
2. International borders
(a) Just because someone wasn’t born in a certain country doesn’t mean that person shouldn’t have the right to pursue a job that would make him or her happy.
No, I’m not Canadian, but I guarantee Churchill’s polar bears fascinate me more than they do many Canadians. Just because I’m American doesn’t mean I should have a harder time getting a job either studying polar bears or helping tourists have the chance to see them. I fell in love with polar bears when I locked eyes with one through the front door of a tundra buggy when I was in first grade. Now the potential paperwork involved with visas makes me less preferable to employers.
(b) Just because someone was born in the wrong country doesn’t mean moving to the right country should be difficult.
I wasn’t born in New Zealand, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t be allowed to move there and then travel around before finding a job. People shouldn’t be limited to one working holiday visa per lifetime in some countries. If I want to live in NZ and therefore put my money into its economy, the country should welcome that!
3. Student loans
Many students are fortunate enough to find their passion and career path while making their way through college. They start their careers right after college and make enough money to not worry about paying back loans. Others start college with no clear path and graduate with no ambition to work in their field of study, which results in low income and lingering loans. Then there are some like me who know what they enjoy but want many experiences through different jobs, never becoming true experts in a specific field – instead becoming what I’ve termed “chronic generalists” or modern explorers who don’t want to be tied to one job or place until they’ve seen what’s out there. We work to chip away at loans that seem to never shrink.
The price of tuition at the University of Alaska Fairbanks played a major role in my decision to head north. In short, the out-of-state cost was reasonable and quite comparable to in-state tuition at Michigan State or that evil school down the road. Fortunately I was even able to become a resident of Alaska after my first 2 years, so years 3 and 4 provided me with pretty cheap tuition. My debt situation could be a lot worse.
Although I’m so grateful for how much savings my parents put toward college for me, I have student loans to pay off. I know my loans are nothing compared to the debt some graduates find themselves in, but the truth is that I won’t be free to try experiencing whatever I want until I’m free of loans. I recognize I won’t be able to do everything even once I’m free, but my options will be more open then than now.
Examples: volunteer with cheetahs/lions/African wild dogs/seabirds in Africa; volunteer with penguins in Punta Tombo, Argentina; work with penguins and seals in Antarctica; hike a long (multi-month) trail in the US or abroad; roadtrip in the US; travel to Finland for a 100% real sauna (although that needs to somehow involve taking Lake Superior to Finland for the post-sauna jump); work with albatrosses way out on Tern Island in Hawaii; fix my feet so I can truly run; travel…
4. The world works in a backward order!
When we’re young, flexible, full of energy, ambitious, free from obligations, and anxious to do everything… we have no money.
When we’re past our prime, tired at the end of a day of sitting at a desk, and tied to mortgages/objects/nearness to family… we have some money but lack the ability to pick up and go. Some people do it, but the majority stay put and look for more comfortable mattresses.
Does everyone see why unless New Zealand lets me in, I have no time or reason to settle down any time soon?!
For now, those are the big 4 on my list. I realize they’re all supremely general, and obviously some of these can also be turned against me, but let’s not go there right now. Putting together a list like this is rather self-centered, but someone other than my parents needs to hear about my gripes with the world!