So this is Christmas, and somehow what I'm thinking about is student loan interest. That says everything right there. I'm in this university and PhD world where you do what you're told is the responsible thing, keep studying, keep working, keep pushing forward, and the balance still creeps up because interest never seems to take a day off.

This is not just my personal frustration. So many students and PhD candidates are doing everything they can to build a future while getting buried by costs that keep growing in the background. It turns higher education into a punishment for people who are already stretched thin, and it makes long years of study feel less like opportunity and more like a trap.

I am asking the Department of Education and federal lawmakers to pause student loan interest for graduate students while they are still enrolled in school. If we are actively in our programmes trying to finish degrees that are supposed to help us contribute more, our debt should not keep expanding just because time is passing or because we are not wealthy enough to pay up front. At the very least, the system should stop making borrowers owe more while they are still trying to qualify for the careers they studied for.

If you have ever looked at your loan balance and felt that pit in your stomach, you already understand this. We should not have to cry over interest while we are still doing the work. Please sign this petition and help demand a fairer path for graduate students.