Thread by @JewhadiTM

I worked as a janitor to keep my student loans low. Wiping debt punishes students like me. usatoday.com/story/opinion/… via @usatoday

Not only does canceling all student loan debt make the sacrifices I made meaningless, Bernie Sanders' proposal will benefit people who need help the least.

Sanders’ proposal is a slap in the face for college graduates like me who had planned ahead, compromised on our choices and struggled in order to limit our student loan debt.

Not to mention, it's just one massive handout to the wealthy that fails to address the root of the college affordability crisis.

In 2014, when I was making college decisions as a high school senior, I was lucky enough to know I had some financial support from my parents.

But my family was also in the lower middle class — so money still played a heavy role in my school selection.

We couldn’t pay very much out of pocket, so I chose the college that offered me the biggest merit-based scholarship and the most need-based aid, requiring the smallest amount in loans: Messiah College in Pennsylvania.

I’m thanking myself now. I graduated in 2017 with a mere $5,000 in student loans — which I expect to pay off in a few years — and I’m still enjoying the benefits of a college degree.

Certainly, I’ve had a lot of privileges and I received a valuable education — but I still made sacrifices that many of my peers chose not to.

I picked an affordable school over others that could have been better, passed up study abroad and extracurricular opportunities, worked during summers and missed out on my senior year entirely.

I’m frustrated. For folks like me, if all student loan debt is indiscriminately canceled as Sanders proposes, the sacrifices we made are rendered meaningless.

And for the many others who gave up even more than I did to be financially independent after college, “frustrated” likely doesn’t even begin to describe how they’re feeling right now.