State of the Union Address

"and dropping out of high school is no longer an option... it is not just quitting on yourself, it is quitting on your country."

Obama is and always will have a way with words. When he speaks it is not just reciting a few sentences, he booms with emotion and ignites this spell on you. Everyone in the room grows silent and for once listens. Honestly though, I do not know what to think. I do not know what to expect. He said himself, that such high standards like this usually end in broken promises. How am I to know that this will not be another let down? Yes it will take a grip of responsibility to avoid this, but how much of that rests in America's hands and how far are we willing to go?

He called upon us, this generation, and told us that higher education will happen just through volunteering or helping our country. Does this apply now though? Or will those after me be able to take on these great opportunities? How can it be assured that we ourselves will not be the ones placing acceptance letters back in envelopes?

I am told to talk about how this makes me feel. I am scared. I am scared that we will make the payments for college, and after years of tyring I will go into a competition where there is no game because jobs will be scarce. I am scared that I will never be able to afford my own house, buy a new car, or even be able to afford insurance of my own.

Obama mentioned that when we become the next generation fo parents, we need to introduce education into their lives as early as possible. When that time comes though, will we even be able to afford babies? After they come, they come with a few prices and diapers are not free. I guess a way to help though maybe would be to just not pro create. Yes, babies are beautiful and bring joy and so on but come on. Can we really afford them? We are going to ahve student loans on our hands, plus bills, plus maybe bank loans. We can sit down and read a book all we want but that is not going to put dinner on the table and clothes on their backs.

I know this all sounds cynical and angry, but I just do not want to get my hopes up and have them crash down before me. I would rather expect the worse and be impressed later on when the worse does not come, than look for the rainbow that will never show through.