I'm temporarily one of those folks. For me, it was either take a bartending job in the city and fret over looming student loans or take a blue collar job in my rural hometown. I chose the latter. It has been a huge lifestyle change, one that has financially helped me, but I've found that my social life has suffered. I'm exposed to less radical and interesting ideas, forced to drive if I want to go anywhere and subject to working a mindless job that currently isn't getting me anywhere near my desired career. To be honest, I'm not sure what my desired career looks like, which is part of the problem.

Next month, however, I will be leaving the country in the hopes of expanding my worldview and finding opportunity elsewhere. No kids, no lovers, no mortgage... it's a precarious state to be in. We should really be more concerned about the upcoming "brain drain" that the US will face if the education system remains on its current trajectory. Foreign degrees are looking a lot more affordable and desirable.

Maybe I already am prepared for grad school. But I certainly feel inadequate. And I most definitely don't want to pay for it.