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It is a terrible thing to blindly stumble after something ephemeral, something always moving just out of reach, only to be lead to a hideous fate you never saw coming.

I am, of course, talking about chasing the dream of secondary education and the resulting mountain of debt many people are crushed under. You thought I was talking about following the Will o’ the Wisp through the marsh? Yeah sure, that thing outright kills you, but at least it’s over quickly, right? Student Loan officers are infinitely more capable of toying with their victims, playing out their gruesome tortures over decades.

I shudder even to think of it!

It just goes to show that the best monsters weren’t all created hundreds of years ago.

Hyperbole aside, we’ve recently discussed the nature of the seemingly innocuous creature known as Will O’ The Wisp (aka, Will of the Torch, aka Jack of the Lantern, aka Them Crazy Lights in the Marsh) in one of this year’s Halloween strips. I will direct your attention there if you would like to refresh your memory or if you missed that update. Jack O’ Lantern and Will O’ the Wisp are both very similar concepts and very high up on my list of favorite mythological/folklore creations.

Yes, I keep a list of my favorites.

Yes, I am a huge nerd.

Graduation rears its ugly head in my future, as I’m sure it does for some of you. It feels both terrifying and amazing to know that I’ve actually made it through four years of school when I thought I’d never even go. Even though I know I’ve got a great deal out of attending art school (look through the strips from a couple of years ago and I think you’ll notice a difference), there are still questions over this mammoth debt I will be assuming for real in a few short months. I’m not one of those people that claims to have been mislead when I signed the papers for my student loans. I certainly knew what I was getting into. It still feels just a little bit strange at the moment, surreal somehow. Like that debt wasn’t entirely real until now.

Either way, I followed the light into the marsh, and it’s up to me to get myself out!

…or drown horribly in thick, muddy waters from which there is no escape, leaving behind grieving family and friends to carry on without me.

Metaphorically speaking, of course.

Hooray, College!