Debt makes desire feel irresponsible before it even begins

Dear Delyara, I don’t think people understand how much debt changes wanting. Not only spending. Wanting. A plan, a purchase, a softer version of the future — all of it immediately gets filtered through caution, guilt, arithmetic, and the question of whether I’m being foolish for even letting my mind go there. It narrows life before life has a chance to open. That is one of the cruelest effects. I am tired of feeling like practicality has swallowed imagination whole.