Reality Bites

A fool and his money are soon parted, the wisdom goes. That does apply to said fool's future earnings, for all those fools out there who have not gotten the memo. Example: this fool, or pair of fools - mother and daughter - who thought chose not to think, but rather believe that spending $200K that they did not have on a degree from a top-notch school (NYU) in... wait for it... religious and women's studies!... was a great investment, because the precious snowflake could not attend a cheaper school.

Now the snowflake is on the hook for $100K, which is all but impossible to discharge even in a bankruptcy, and - shocker! - feels like someone should have stopped her from being a moron. "It feels wrong to me." Fair enough - for a reasonable fee, and a release form from prosecution for battery, I am willing to beat (including physically, when necessary) into any future young people like Ms. Munna some common sense. That will necessarily include some insight like:

1) The fact that something sounds like a great idea does not make it such.
2) See 1) - When you pay for something, you may REALLY want to figure out what it is worth to you.
3) See 2) - When you commit to pay for something, there are no do-overs. Unless you are a government (like Greece). Or unless you can throw a big enough temper tantrum to get a bailout from... wait for it... the government!
4) See 3) - When you get relief, help, a bailout - that means someone else who was not as dumb as you conveniently claim to be right now has to pay for your mistakes. Where does that fit into the religious and women's empowerment concepts you learned, Ms. Munna? Somewhere in between Psalm 37:21 ("The wicked borrow and do not repay...") and Camille Paglia ("“Capitalism is an art form, an Apollonian fabrication to rival nature. It is hypocritical for feminists and intellectuals to enjoy the pleasures and conveniences of capitalism while sneering at it. Everyone born into capitalism has incurred a debt to it. Give Caesar his due.”)?