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0ur discussion of "Walden on wheels"

Everyone agreed on two things: the book was well written, and we wouldn't want to try this method of debt reduction! The experiences the author went through, from cleaning rooms in an Alaskan hotel to working as a park ranger for the National Parks Service surely shaped him, and allowed him to go to extremes to pay off his debt, and graduate from a graduate program debt free. Along the way he learned valuable lessons: where you are does not dictate who you are, debt is a monster that can be slain, and living without can be living the life you want. We all liked the author, his easy voice and writing style, but one group member brought up a valid point. In some parts of the book, the author was a bit snarky when describing how others were living, or spending, or amassing their student debt. A little bit of "my way is the right way" attitude. But we forgave that. The singlemindedness of purpose, and the determination he displayed won us over. The author did some crazy things: hitchhiking, going on a hike totally unprepared for the journey, and let's face it...living in a van during his graduate studies at Duke. He survived it all, and when he was faced with his recurring dream of meeting a grizzly bear face to face, he faced down the bear and walked away. Was the bear a metaphor for debt, servitude or losing your way? Maybe. Hard work hones his muscles, and his mind was free to pursue whatever it wanted to learn.

One interesting side road the group traveled was debating cost versus value when it comes to a college degree. With so many students racking up extraordinary amounts to debt, should college still be the dream of every student? It's hard for incoming freshmen to know exactly what they want to study, then devote all their time, energy and resources to achieving this goal in the shortest time possible. Time in this case equals debt. One this I came away with is that this path may not be right for all of us, but what is right is living your life as fully as you can, and being the best "you" possible. Whether or not this involves college is not important. Following dreams, itches and yearnings is. Face down your own "dream bear".

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