THE No Child Left behind Act was signed into law by President Bush in 2002 but despite that, ten million Americans cannot read. This is not just a sorry fact, it is a serious one. What if one illiterate guy crosses a railroad sign which says “STOP – TRAIN CROSSING AHEAD” and dies? That is one serious matter to talk about. This is where student loans come in. However, student loans are surely a pain in the brain after one starts graduating from college because there you will be carrying you the burden of paying these loans for 30 years. Even though they have very minimal interest, especially the ones lent to you by the federal government, but loans start acting like monthly utility bills which are there seemingly like forever, then that is no joke at all.

But there is still hope. The government has just implemented a new policy that will erase your student loans forever. Just enlist yourself in the military and take two tours of duty to highly dangerous places such as Iraq and Afghanistan. It’s just like a package. You simply can’t have your loans deleted from your provider’s records if you don’t do that as one of the conditions you will choose. The other one will be to become a teacher in a public high school. And the third one will be to be employed in a community organization sanctioned by the government. I’ll rather opt for any of the two.

I am already a senior at a film school here in Maine. Maine is a far cry from Hollywood but I have dreams of becoming the next Steven Soderbergh someday. I came from a broken family and my mom is unemployed busily tending my 17-year-old sister who is still in high school. When I graduated from high school, I really wanted to go to college so I can be assured of a brighter future rather than tending video rentals at the local Blockbuster outlet or tending patties at the local Burger King. And I have chosen filmmaking as my way of going up the success ladder.

My tuition has forever been subsidized with student loans. I first tried the federal government student loan program and also tried the one offered by Sallie Mae. Later, I consolidated those two student loans under the roof of the federal government student loan consolidation. Now, I’m on my senior year in college.

It helps if you’ve got the positive vibe in you. I have never forgotten that there is still divinity after all who will help us in times of need. Then the student loan forgiveness program with the conditions mentioned above was announced by the federal government earlier this month. It was like a New Year’s gift for me. My eyes were almost moist in tears. This may seem mushy but my four years of college study have persevered. So that all of my student loans will be forgiven, I have decided to volunteer at Sundance for five years with stipend of course which can support my family. After all, Sundance was where Steven Soderbergh got his big break through sex, lies & videotape 20 years ago. I hope I’ll be next.