Marriage and Finances

Getting Married in College podcast

“Love is always patient and kind.” We’ve all heard what people promise at weddings. To love, honor, and cherish each other until death do you part. They live happily ever after.

Until your husband loses his job and you are suddenly strapped for cash as a newlywed couple trying to pay for college. Then your husband gets another job that has him in a different city. Marriage is a lot more complicated when you are struggling to pay bills and never see each other.

That is exactly what happened to Bailey Lemmon Polson. Polson met her husband Josh when she was fifteen years old. He joined the National Guard and she moved to Westminster, but their love was strong and their faith was stronger.

"I knew I was going to marry him,” Polson said. “When I say he’s my best friend and that I love him…I can’t even explain it.”

Married on May 16, 2009, their wedding was the fairy tale she had always wanted. She wore her mother’s veil and they were married in the same church as Bailey’s parents.

Two weeks after they got back from their honeymoon, Josh lost his job as a mechanic.

“It was one of those last hired, first fired thing,” Polson said with a shrug. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate for South Carolina is 11.5 percent.

Polson, a senior biology major, was in a tight spot. Though Josh would be drawing money from the National Guard, they now had an apartment rent, groceries to buy and animals to take care of.

Working as the student director for the Peer Mentor program, she was bringing in a little over $100 every two weeks. Between July and September, they made roughly $500 together. Their apartment rent alone was $480.

“Thank goodness we had money in savings, but no newlyweds want to tap into that money. We were trying to save,” Polson said.

According to the Department of Health and Human Services through the Center of Disease Control and Prevention, 36 percent of couples that get married at the age of 20 get divorced or separated within 15 years.

Though he now has a permanent job in Columbia, their finances are still stretched, for the time being. Only seeing each other on weekends only complicates the situation further.

“Even if he’s just on the computer and I’m on the couch reading a book. I’d rather have that every day. But he loves his job. I would never take that away from him. So I can’t go out on weekends. But I’d rather see my husband who is gone five days a week. What’s a few months compared to a lifetime of being married?”

According to Sarah Colwell of the Colorado Spring Business Journal, 84 percent of couples say that money causes tension in their marriage and 13 percent say they fight about it several times a month.

“I was angry and confused. I thought well why us? I wasn’t sure how we were going to make it. I called my mom crying,” she said.

Tuition at Winthrop University for the fall and spring semesters in state, according to the school’s website, is $5,803 per semester. That doesn’t include books or a meal plan if you live on campus.

Polson ended up getting more financial aid and scholarships due to the fact that they had little to no income.

According to Bethany Jones, who writes for the online database Associated Content, there are certain advantages for getting married in college, even with the stress it can bring.

“…There are special grants and scholarships available for students who are married,” says Jones. Also, having that person to depend on can help you grow and change.

“While it’s true that we, as humans, are constantly changing, it’s also true that a young marriage can last years if the couple enters the relationship with the understanding that they can grow and change together,” she writes.

Dealing with the changes, such as Josh being gone for the majority of the week, is hard for Bailey.
“I go home to my two dogs and cook and take care of the apartment. But it’s hard being there by myself. So I try to stay busy,” she said.

Though times are hard in the economy, divorce rates are slowly falling. According to David Popenoe of the National Marriage Project, “the risk of divorce is far below fifty percent for educated people going into their first marriage.” Popenoe also wrote that people who find a partner with similar values, backgrounds, and lifestyle goes tend to have a more successful marriage.

With the economy in a recession, the average income per family has dropped drastically. According to the U.S. Trustee Program through the U.S. Department of Justice, the median income for a two-person household in South Carolina is $50, 823. The Polsons were nowhere near that.

“My friends call me and ask me to go out or go shopping. I can’t go out. I can’t eat out all the time. I can’t afford it,” Polson said.

Colwell has several tips for young couples to help them stay on track and worry less about money. They need to have a budget and stick to it. Devise a filing system of sort that keeps their taxes, receipt information and joint bank accounts. Also, make sure to keep your goals as individuals and as a couple in mind when you are making monetary decisions.

Sitting the her office, Polson shrugs as though she’s talking about the weather. When her cell phone rings, Bailey’s smile is instantaneous. She quickly holds up and finger and answers with a “hey, honey,” and a goofy grin. They chit chat for a minute before he tells her that he actually came home earlier than he thought, and was taking their dogs for a walk. After a quick “I love you” and “goodbye,” Bailey hangs up the phone.

“I’ve completely lost my train of thought. He came home early today. I wonder if I could leave early. I mean I’m done with my work…” She frowns as she glances at her watch. “I want to be home with him.”

Though it’s been a stress few months for them and they still have a long way to go before they are on stable ground economically, Polson does not hesitate to admit she’s happy. To her, the happily ever still exists.

“Would it have been easier if we had waited to get married? Yes. I’m just being honest; it would have been easier, looking back at it. But Do I regret getting married? Never. It probably just would have been May 16, 1210 as opposed to May 16, 2009. Not marry Josh was not an option.”

President to address joint session of Congress tomorrow

 


Tomorrow evening, President Obama is meeting a joint session of Congress to discuss the health care bill he is trying to push trhough. This speech is "...an address billed as the most important of his presidency so far," according to Jackie Calmes and Robert Pear. 

President  Obama has been lobbying for the health care reform since he became president and how it's all come to a head. What will happen if it doesn't pass? People will be left without any health care. That's a serious issue. However, that means that the middle class people (who are also struggling with the economy right now) will not see a change in their policy or prices. 


Some Democrats in Congress think things are moving too quickly, and would like a chance for things to slow down. The health care reform bill could mean a hike in taxes and has very little Republican support.  


The stakes are high for President Obama. No matter what happens tomorrow afternoon with his speech, if the health care reform bill passes or doesn't go through, there will be serious repercussions on both sides of the fence. If  he fails to pass the bill, his presidency will take a huge blow. One that he can recover from but it will take a lot to bounce back from. 


"The time to decide is now," said President Obama. There is no more dancing around the issue. It's time to to decide and act. The issue is what will happen when it is acted upon. Failing to pass the bill will be detrimental to his next four years. However pushing the bill through without the proper support could turn ugly and hinder President Obama just as much. 


With Democrats and Republicans a little wary of what is to come, it make take a while to get a joint decision on the bill. President Obama must know there is a lot riding on this speech.


However most of his campaign and this far in his presidency have depended on his ability to deliver a good speech at the right time. Now, when the country is in such termoil and there are so many questions, President Obama has to keep his poise and keep his head about it. 


President Obama is addressing a joint session of Congress about health care tomorrow. The outcome could go either way. No matter what, it's a big moment in history and in his presidency.

Julie Andrews

Julie Andrews is one of my favorite actresses, so I decided to research her and see what I could find.
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"I was learning on my feet every single performance."

Julie Andrews, born Julia Wells felt right at home on a stage at the age of ten when she joined her mother (a pianist) and her step father (a professional singer) on their family tour.

Julie Andrews spent the early part of her career on Broadway, giving a excellent performance as Eliza Doolittle in "My Fair Lady." After earning an Oscar for her first feature film, Mary Poppins, Julie Andrews was a household name for most people.

After Mary Poppins, she went on to star in one of her most recognizable roles to date, Maria in "The Sound of Music." Her talents as an actress and as a singer were put to the test, due to the extensive music score.

In 1995 Andrews was suffering from vocal cord damage and had surgery to repair it. However the surgery went wrong and caused Andrews to lose some vocal tissue needed to keep singing at her range (four octave). Since then, her acting and singing career has taken a back seat to something else Andrews has longed to do: write childrens books. She currently has 8 children's books published an a memoir, letting her audience a little deeper into her life through words.

Andrews took back up acting by portraying Queen Clarisse in The Princess Diaries. She enjoys being recognized by the younger generation.

"I know, it's phenomenal. There's a whole new generation out there that says 'Do you remember Mary Poppins,' 'yeah.' 'The Sound of Music?' 'yeah,' 'Princess Diaries,' 'oh cool!' and I just love it."
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It was a great interview that started out with a little anecdote about her life and as a child, and then gives more detail and more detail about her life as an actress and singer, and then ends with another little snippet of her life, letting the readers see she is a real person as well as an actress.

Representive Profile Piece

I was looking on the Washington Post website trying to find an article that was a representative profile piece. For some reason, this one caught my eye:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/01/AR2009090103709.html

1 (Lead)-"In the four months that Deborah Ann Brown had been making iced lattes and counting out Munchkins at a Dunkin' Donuts store in Northwest Washington, she became known as the slight, cheerful, generous woman whose personality made others smile" - gives you a little detail about Deborah Brown and what she did, although it does not say what happened (she was killed)

2. (Nut Graf)- paragraphs 3-4 say exactly what happened (she was in the wrong place at the wrong time) and gives a little detail about the man who killed her and gangs (which he was in.)

3. (Body)-the body goes into detail about how this has been a crime in a string of violence in Columbia Heights and gives statistics about the homicide rate being down and how the victim and assailant know each other

4. (ending) "In Brown's case," Fenty said, "she was an innocent victim"-the body brings up the neighborhood as a whole, but the end brings Deborah back into focus and reminding people that not everyone knows their assailant.

The article was gripping and made it realistic by talking about a specific person before branching out and talking about how crime has been fluctuating in Columbia Heights for a spree.

Homesickness

Traci Piercey, top, and Jeannae Richardson

Students admit that getting homesick is natural

It's not just the freshman getting homesick it seems. Across the board, students get homesick when school starts. However, it doesn't apply to everyone.

The school year just started. College students feel the freedom and the responsibilities that come along at this moment in time. Freshman are trying to find their way around campus while forcing themselves not to call their parents every two minutes to say how their day was. However, freshman are not the only ones who are reaching for the phone.

"I miss my dogs and my family," junior early childhood education major Traci Piercey said. The 20-year-old admits that she cries every time she leaves her family, even if she just came home for the weekend.

Jeannae Richardson, however, has no trouble admitting how she feels about home. "I'm so glad to be out of that house," the senior psychology major said with the shake of her head. "Sometimes I think about my family and miss them, but for the most part I'm glad to be here."

Readers may have heard that only freshman get homesick. While this may seem like a true statement, since freshman have never gone away for a long period of time before, the myth can be stated as false but some upperclassman.

"Hello, sixteen hours away from home," sophomore Kayla Piscatelli said. The theatre education major feels right at home at Winthrop, but still misses her family.

So freshman, take comfort in the fact that you are not the only one missing mom and dad. Everyone goes through it, some are just better at dealing with it than others.

Love Comes Softly

First order of business: I got my cast off!!

Second, let's talk about some books. I have been rereading this series of books called "Love Comes Softly." The first one, just entitled "Love Comes Softly" tells the story of Marty, a young woman who is moving out into the west with her husband. Through circumstances and hardships, Marty suddenly finds herself alone, trying to make it through her first winter out west. 

In walks Clark Davis. This handsome young stranger proposes an idea, literally. He asks Marty to enter into a marriage of convenience. She needs a place to stay and he needs help raising his young daughter Missy. Realizing that she can't do it alone, Marty unwillingly accepts.

Throughout the novel, we see Marty struggling with her grief and confusion while also trying to teach young Missy, who clearly doesn't have any desire for another mother. The two often quarrel until Marty finally understands where Missy's frustration is coming from. Clark, knowing his daughter needs a mother figure, is okay with stepping back and letting his "wife" and daughter work out their problems.

The story continues and we find Marty pregnant with her husband's child. Clark is determined to be there for her, wanting to keep up his end of the bargain. As winter turns to spring and Marty's son is born, readers see that Clark has fallen in love with Marty and we see that Marty has feelings for Clark as well, although she is unsure of how to feel. Having lost most of her faith when she lost her husband, Marty wonders if she could be good enough for Clark, who is a devout Christian man. 

I must admit that I fell in love with the movie before I read the book. After watching the movie, however, I realized that the book had to be better, and truth be told it was. I have since read the entire series, and it has to be one of my favorites. To see Marty and Clark struggle to come to terms with their past and slowly build a new future together is exciting. 

I say this at the end of all my posts, but if you haven't read it I ask you to give it a try. Join Marty and Clark as they realize that love doesn't always barge in. Sometimes, love just comes softly.  

So I get my cast off in a week, which is definitely exciting!

So someone asked me recently if I knew of an author named James Michener. Truth be told, I don't. But I've done a little research.

He was apparently born in 1907, and in his 97 years he published over 40 titles. He never really knew his parents. His "mother" took in children and raised them. 

One of his most well known works is "Tales of South Pacific" for which he won his Pulitzer Prize in 1948. He has also published some non-fiction works, as well as a memoir. 

I read an interview by Mr. Michener. Click here to read the interview and find out a little more about James A. Michener.