Vacation Plans from 2019

While on Navy Reserve duty in Naples, Italy, I was able to make weekend trips to the ruins of Pompeii and the town of Kocevje, Slovenia in January 2020. A week later, Italy and the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet began lockdown procedures. That was the last trip for several years. From March 2020, and on paper until mid-2022, my employer enforced a 50-mile restriction of movement. This was a mild limitation compared to the total lockdown of merchant vessels, but did affect my ability to plan for a safe vacation. On return from outside the area, I would have to remain quarantined for two weeks. The message- go big on vacation, or stay at home. I stayed home. If vacation destinations – save for natural wonders - are about the people, then the immediate post-lockdown era was going to be a letdown. To summarize the ennui bluntly, the New York Times stated that hospitality became hostile. There were many underlying factors- from a labor shortage, transportation shortage, and supply shortage to a fickle customer base, and possible owner’s liability for a localized COVID-19 breakout. My impulse during this time was to make myself busier. While working ashore, I took a weekend job onboard a dinner cruise boat in Norfolk, VA; when it was ready to relaunch in the summer of 2021. Before COVID, the vessel had been at the center of the city’s social life; however, I saw that the clientele had changed: suburbanites had become accustomed to entertaining guests in their homes and backyards; and on their personal boats. Perhaps, life for the privileged set became more insular than outwardly focused. For me, planning interesting things to do on vacation seemed daunting, when “everything has changed”. Nevertheless, there are vacation plans from 2019 that are still good to go: a planned hike on the C & O Canal in Maryland, and a visit to the newly-built Christendom College chapel in Front Royal, Virginia. Nature and religion; the two stalwarts in a changing world. We are in what is called the “Fourth Pandemic Year”- the time elapsed since early 2020- now represents 5% of a lifespan. It’s time to live your best life.

One Magazines and the Student Loan Craze

The American student debt issue is multi-pronged, some of which have been addressed by previous government programs ranging from alternative payment plans, Public Service Loan Forgiveness, and the rare approval to discharge through bankruptcy. These programs were designed for students who attended for-profit schools, like Corinthian, that targeted revenue goals over student achievement; students who had to drop out for personal hardship related to family or health issues; and graduates of high-price, high-reward professional schools interested in community service rather than country clubs. One magazine, however, made six-figure student debt a cultural phenomenon. Ten to twenty years ago, there was one authoritative source of truth on the best colleges in America: The US News & World Report. This annual compilation synthesized various data such as standardized test scores and acceptance rates (the lower, the better) to rank the prestige of America's universities. I had a classmate who chose Stanford (#3 in 2011) over Harvard (#1), and this decision was talk of the campus- both students and parents- for several weeks, reflecting how much influence this list held. As a "normie" high school student, the goal was naturally to attend a Top 25 university. Rebels and artsy students could attend a small liberal arts college instead. Classmates at my preparatory high school made contingency plans for surviving at a "second page" college, namely, an institution ranked between #51 and 100. Oftentimes, these universities offered generous scholarships; and it was this tier that represented large state universities in my classmates' suburban home states of Virginia and Maryland. Until the US News & World Report era, going out-of-state for college was fairly uncommon. It was common for the Ivy Leagues, the Service Academies, and specialized programs like Naval Architecture; but financial and practical issues kept it from being a cultural phenomenon. So-called "no-name" schools actively strived to increase their ratings. The University of Alabama offered free tuition to any student with 1400 out of 1600 on their SAT score, or the top 5% of scorers. The people of Alabama, and the other 95% of students, had to pay for this indulgence. Other colleges sent out application forms to students who certainly wouldn't be admitted anyway. George Washington University (#51) thoroughly gentrified its campus. Utilitarian dormitories built in the 1930's and 1950's were gutted and rebuilt as palaces for students of higher learning. Student loans could also be used to lease cars, and take vacations to Montreal or Cancun. Tuition rates became uncoupled from reality- from the real inflation rate and from students' actual earning potential. Finishing students four years was no longer a priority for many colleges; the "forever student" was the new model. Yet this amenities race was not universal. At some small colleges like Deep Springs and my alma mater, the US Merchant Marine Academy, students continued to clean the dormitories and perform other on-campus work. Today, there is better understanding that "strength" comes in multiple forms. You are more likely to see more focused lists such as: "Best Upward Mobility" and "Best Mid-Career Income". Even better, "Lowest Cost of Attendance". The hangover from the US News and World Report era is far-reaching. There are fewer traditional college students now than in 2011, and a greater appreciation among them for acquiring marketable skills. Some small liberal arts colleges have had to close. The maritime industry is a good place for graduates to pay off their loans, yet the price of trade-offs is apparent now: a smaller mortgage, a later retirement age. But wasn't college a blast? "If I knew then what I knew now...", they begin to say.