u/FunSatisfaction2500

I am career pivoting, after 15 years in my industry and trying to build up my linkedIn presence. I have some contract work/networking events coming up; the idea is to make connections in person, get folks interested enough in me to visit my page, and have content on my page that could give them a sample of my voice, writing style, how I think, etc. I am not trying to go viral or build a client base. I'm building up a bank of articles/posts now, timing their release for the 1-2 weeks before my in-person events. Any feedback or thoughts on the plan? (tbh, idk what I'm doing. it's a weird space.)

I understand that to generate traffic / be prioritized by the algorithm to extend my reach, I should engage in other people's content. But where do I start? Specific groups? Or just whatever pops up on my feed?

Also, how do we navigate the slop? Its....kind of off-putting? I think I'm out of touch and need to adjust my lens, but just feeling very insecure and uncomfortable with it. Scrolling through and consuming slop, just to to find something that's not slop feels, idk, unhealthy and existentially anxiety-inducing, maybe? Will building a more curated network alleviate this?

General advice or insight would be so, so appreciated. TIA.

tldr: The glitch that made everyone's Parent Plus Loans in Mohela this week revealed a $13.5K PPL in my mom's name that has been in default since 2009; with interest the total owed is $26k. Neither one of us knew about this. Anyone else in a similar situation or have any idea how we could have been getting charged $3.37 in interest DAILY for 16 years without being notified?!?!?? Also, sending love to anyone harboring shame/embarrassment/guilt for major financial decisions you made as a teenager and SUPER SHOUT OUT to the parents of first-generation college kids. I mean, holy moley. BIG respect.

Backstory: I am first generation college - my family is very blue collar and we're not super financially literate. The 2008 crash hit my family really hard, which was the year I started college. We tried to make responsible choices, but had no idea what we were doing. Ultimately, we pulled it off. I'm now the highly educated daughter of an immigrant living life in a higher tax bracket than my parents ever were. My heart is full of gratitude.

When I logged into Mohela yesterday I, like many others, saw a Parent Plus Loan on my account for the first time. It showed an initial amount of $13,5000 disbursed in two installments, then it showed it was in repayment in January 2009, and then April 2010 shows it defaulted. It showed zero payment history, ever. Total amount owed was at $26,179. Obviously I panicked / had a major melt down before calling the Debt Management Collectors and my mom. My mom says she remembers making payments in 2009, but she stopped getting that bill, so she didn't keep paying bills she wasn't receiving. She doesn't remember how she made payments, but probably snail-mailed checks. She has a different bank now. Also, those years were just...messy and chaotic for our family, so none of us have great recollection of that time. The Debt Management representative was super kind, but not very helpful and mostly just read information from the website to us. They offered us a buy-out of $19,945.

How could we not have know about this loan going into default?? Isn't the loan servicer required to communicate that we owe money and how to pay it? Shouldn't her wages have been garnished, or something with her taxes? (She's self-employed 1099). Her mailing address has been the same for like 45 years. When we called, they had my mom's SSN, mailing address, and physical address, but no phone number or email on file.

The whole thing feels wonky. My disbursed amount was $13,500, but they say the principal balance owed is $13,633.36. I know it's small potatoes, but shouldn't they be able to explain why it's different? The Debt Management rep had no information earlier than 2010, so we have two missing years of history. Mohela said my first disbursement was January 2009 and the second disbursement was November 2008, which looks like an obvious mistake. I tried to log into the online portal to make a payment, but the portal said my mom's SSN/DOB don't match what's in the system, and we could not set up a portal to make a payment. The website said to call the representative again, but I need to get my mom on the phone with them. The rep said my mom cannot submit written 3rd party authorization for me to handle these matters with/for her, and she needs to be on the phone with me any time we call.

So, is the pay-out the best option? It'll keep a defaulted loan on my mom's credit score, but it'll be paid and we can move on. Or, do we try to rush for consolidation before the June 30 deadline to try for an IDR? Or do we go into Rehabilitation? Anywhere I could go for advice on this?

My mom worked so hard to get us out of the place we were in during the 08 fallout. It really hurt seeing her go back to that place of shame and embarrassment, after she worked so, SO hard to get our shit together. We'll weather it, and we'll be okay, but...it just feels like such a racket.