My Personal Story with the Recession

It is hard to really put into perspective how much the recession has truly affected me, it has kind of been one of those things that I do not really realize how close it is to home until it is all the way there. I figured since this blog is dedicated to college students regarding the recession and I am a current college student living in the recession, than it is nothing more than ideal to explain my personal experience.

Unlike many of my fellow Atlanta suburban natives, I came into college completely aware that I was soon to be in thousands of dollars in debt because of student loans. My mom is a teacher and her salary is just not sufficient enough to support me through college. I have been working since the week I turned sixteen, which is something I have come to truly appreciate. Obviously I didn't have this positive respect for the whole working thing until I am came to college. Anyways have my part time job is what pays all my everyday expenses and bills; my loans pay rent.

With the recession, this set up I have going on has come to be a true struggle. The first place it home was when I realized how affected Gap, Inc was by the economy. Luckily my recent promotion locked me in on a certain amount of hours per week, but that has sure not been the case for many other employees. We have had to drastically cut hours, which has been causing us to have minimum coverage on the floor. If you are not familiar with all this retail lingo, basically it just means we don't have enough money to pay any employees to be there so we have been running the store with as little people working as possible (aka super intense).

Another place the recession has busted into my life has been with food. I have a week or two every three months or so where I literally have less than a dollar to last me for six or seven days. Not going to lie, I have grown pretty well at this haha. It is rough sometimes, but I have come to learn that in the end it always works out. This leads to the whole point of this blog post. Yes, the recession has hit me and it has me hard, but after thinking deeply into everything I have been through I really appreciate what I have learned. I used to basically have a panic attack if I was getting really low on money, but now I have learned to relax. It really does all work out in the end and you can not let money control your life. Money only has as much power as you give it!