The majority will agree that student years are the most exciting ones; that newly found independence, new connections, friendships you’ll cherish for the rest of your existence and that wild nightlife that you’ll probably still reminisce about in your 50s.

Though the entertaining part of attending college is not the only part folks are looking forward to – many spend years studying and preparing for the subject they are eager to dedicate their life to, and once they enter those classroom doors, they feel like they can conquer the world.

More info: Twitter

Folks have mixed opinions about student loan forgiveness – however, this online user has a story to tell

Image credits: Ben+Sam (not the actual photo)

However, college is not all about rainbows and unicorns. You’ll experience a decent amount of stress during those couple of years; sleepless nights and anxious mornings will probably be your best friends, at least during exam seasons. And then, after you graduate, you’ll have to deal with the one and only – debt.

A former graduate revealed how a $15K student loan her late mother wanted to help her with has turned into a $80K debt

Image credits: michelleimiller

The Twitter user started off her thread by revealing that she’s not that pumped about being this personal on the internet – however, she feels like she needs to tell this story so perhaps, fellow college attendees can get a thing or two out of it. Michelle then began with the backstory: unfortunately, the woman’s mother passed away in December 2020 with what she believed to be $40,000 in student loan debt.

Image credits: michelleimiller

Image credits: michelleimiller

Image credits: michelleimiller

When the OP was attending college, together with her late mother, they made a deal, saying that they’d split the loan payback in half. The author managed to pay her $15K back in approximately 10 years, though what she didn’t know was that her mother was never able to pay her part off. The woman discovered that her mother had the debt in 2019 when she was helping her out with a refinancing scam. Naturally, Michelle asked her mother if she could take over the loans, but she declined. The woman decided to let it go, but kept an eye on her savings in case her mom would eventually let her help.

In 2020, the author’s mother became ill due to medical malpractice that happened 30 years ago. Moreover, during that period, the company that she worked for started closing down, leaving the woman worried that they’d shut down her department before she could retire the following year.

Image credits: michelleimiller

Image credits: michelleimiller

Image credits: michelleimiller

Michelle’s mother barely had enough money to make it through her retirement years, as the difference between poverty and living somewhat comfortably was the $400 monthly payments on those student loans. However, the author’s mother still managed to lighten up the stress-inducing atmosphere by saying that she was good at being broke.

Suddenly, the woman fell very ill. The author didn’t know that her mother was dying, and they spent their last week together talking about her care options and potential house repairs. Michelle, once again, asked her mother if she was willing to let her take care of the loans, to which the woman said that it was a gift and that she needed to do it herself.

Image credits: michelleimiller

Image credits: michelleimiller

Image credits: michelleimiller

Michelle then revealed that the reason why she decided to tell this story was because every time she sees or encounters someone who believes that erasing debt is a “gift to elites”, she thinks about her late mother, a working class woman.

After her beloved mother had passed away, the author’s friend helped Michelle go through the woman’s papers to deal with the post-death formalities. She stumbled upon the loan papers and realized that her mother had lied about the amount she owed. Turns out, it was $80K and not $40K.

Image credits: michelleimiller

Image credits: TheTruthAbout (not the actual photo)

A couple of hours later, after the thread began to gain a lot of attention, Michelle made another tweet, saying that she’d like to add some things about her late mother, so she’s not just poor and sick in the netizens’ imagination. The author revealed that the woman was very funny and an outstanding cook. She read different books weekly, was tough and loved her daughter more than “physics might suggest is possible”.

Fellow Twitter users shared a couple of thoughts regarding the thread

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Image credits: tiredoldpunk

Image credits: londonsje

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Image credits: msgiovan

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