One does not simply pay off student loans...without your help, that is!!! ;) I owe more than I like to admit. Just as I was about to graduate and become a speech language pathologist, I had my daughter and was told she was profoundly deaf, and that my options for her were limited where we lived. That news changed EVERYTHING in my life. I picked up, and moved us across the pacific, to find doctors and therapists and programs and resources to help her. I had to pay for a VERY expensive cochlear implant surgery (that Im STILL paying off), and then spent the next few years dedicating my life to helping her learn how to listen and speak, and get caught up to her peers. That meant camming to take care of us, and saying goodbye to that distinguished SLP career I thought I was going to have. And it also meant constant deferments, and years of interest accruing. It doesn't make me proud to say all this, and it feels like an impossible goal to tackle, honestly. But maybe, with some help, and some time, I can get caught up, and get it paid off!! I can only imagine what it feels like to be debt free. But I do know is that asking for help certainly can't hurt <3