September is ending already?
I hate being poor. I hate that $2.50 to do my laundry is -- literally -- too much to afford (I have $2.48 to my name.)
I am glad that, living in the dorms, on meal plan, I have shelter now and more food than I could ever eat.
I hate that, come winter, I will likely be homeless once more, because the next semester is too much to afford (laundry too much to afford; tuition that much moreso!)
I am enjoying my classes an incredible amount, and strangely happy in the amount of work I am buried under.
I am sad that these classes may well be the only I ever take.
I am happy because I am now a Eucharistic Minister for the Brown-RISD Catholic community, and it is good to have something to remind me to remember God in my daily life, because under the weight of so much school-work and work-work and volunteer-work sometimes, it is so easy to forget Him.
I am sad, because, there are times that I give in to despair and get angry with God, and really believe that He has abandoned me. And I should not listen to those feelings.
I am glad that, living in the dorms, on meal plan, I have shelter now and more food than I could ever eat.
I hate that, come winter, I will likely be homeless once more, because the next semester is too much to afford (laundry too much to afford; tuition that much moreso!)
I am enjoying my classes an incredible amount, and strangely happy in the amount of work I am buried under.
I am sad that these classes may well be the only I ever take.
I am happy because I am now a Eucharistic Minister for the Brown-RISD Catholic community, and it is good to have something to remind me to remember God in my daily life, because under the weight of so much school-work and work-work and volunteer-work sometimes, it is so easy to forget Him.
I am sad, because, there are times that I give in to despair and get angry with God, and really believe that He has abandoned me. And I should not listen to those feelings.
posted by Mol at 12:07 PM
13 Comments:
Why are you fearful about there not being enough money for tuition next year? I thought Point Fdtn pays for a full ride. Is that not the case?
Not next year, next semester. I wish I had the luxury of waiting till next year to worry :P
TPF pays a set amount each year. For me, it is $30k. But all told, a year at Brown comes out closer to $43-44k. So I have quite a long way to go, and it is frustrating. Trying to apply for loans is frustrating because I have no credit history and no parents and no cosigner and I could do without one of the three things but not without all three. I am working on it, though; but most likely, come winter when this semester ends, I'll just be back on the streets because I can't pay next semester's tuition and outside of the dorms, I really have no home.
Bah. Mostly right now, I just want $2.50 for laundry. And even that is more than I can afford.
Well, hmmm . . . NYAC should start an endowment campaign then: "The Campaign to Maya's Education."
Maybe I can ask my friends if they can make a leadership gift to this campaign. :P
You've definitely just got to keep the faith; trust and believe that you will be delivered. In the meantime, have fun where u are and live in the moment of being young and in college, because rich or poor; happy or sad; life will pass you by in the blink of an eye.
If you're paying for anything out of pocket, including your rent and food, save your receipts and itemize your taxes. As a student, you can deduct pretty much everything, and get a hefty refund - which can be applied to more classes, and subsequently deducted.
Also, if you're willing to take classes part time and work full time, consider something like tech support for a larger corporation. It's a stressful job, but it pays really well, and if you work nights or weekends, it's quiet. Also, a lot of the larger companies offer tuition reimbursement. Not all of the big companies are douchebags - and there are a lot of benefits to working for a larger corporation - health, dental, gym, and vision being among them.
Another thought, even if you do have to leave school for winter break, you may want to make contacts within the Catholic ministry. They may run shelters or even have a generous minister or parishoner who could give you a place to crash for a while.
As for laundry - been there, done that - still do that sometimes. You can get away with either washing or drying your clothes when you don't have the money to do both.
With washing, get really hot water in a sink or tub, add a few pieces of clothing in there, and stir in some detergent and fabric softener. Let it soak for a while, then scrub. This works well for clothes that aren't particularly stained or smelly. Tossing them in the dryer with a dryer sheet works wonders.
Otherwise, especially for lightweight pieces of clothing, you can run them through the washer, and hang them to dry. you can get away with doing this in a closet, with a towel or tupperware container on the floor below to catch drips. Don't try this with jeans or sweatshirts though - they take forever to dry.
Do you guys have Family Dollar up there? If so, it's a great place to get really cheap laundry and cleaning stuff. Suavitel is a softener that costs half as much as Downy, but is really really good. For buying routine stuff, check out hispanic neighborhoods - because there are so many immigrants, there are usually a lot of stores that sell stuff at a heavy discount.
Being poor sucks, but you'll get used to it. You adapt, and find ways to get things done without much money. If you're ever off the meal plan, hit me up and I can provide some tips on eating dirt cheap vegan. :-)
1. pssh. stay in pvd and live in my swanky house. there's a big living room with lots of couches.
2. look into maybe working with BUDS (Dining Services) or the libraries? As far I as I know Brown is pretty flexible with both work study and just plain work.
You will never be homeless. You know you can always come and live wherever I am...
I love you and I would never leave you out on the street.
Maya, if you can't afford Brown right now, go to another college to earn your degree - one that's not so expensive. No, the school may not be as prestigious as Brown, but at least you can get to a point where you can afford living expenses faster.
You could always return to Brown to study once your financial situation is better.
There are other schools where you could get more free money and still be able to afford daily expenses. You're smart, you have options. You don't have to be homeless in your pursuit of higher education; there are other options.
Making it through this would earn you all the respect in the world; however, consider the short and long term effects to your health and well-being. What if you get sick...things can come up, you need some sort of financial stablity for yourself.
I think that during this time of a person's life they should be happy and enjoying their time in school, not suffering through it - not in this way, at least.
Laundry - see if you can find someone who has units in their home or apartment (friend, peer, co-worker) who would not mind helping you out with that. I've had to do mine by hand before, descretely. Take lots of showers to minimize heavly soiled clothing.
My 2cents.
FRIEND OF HE
WHO HELD THE PORTUGUESE NAMESAKE
THAT WOODEN NAME WHICH WROUGHT
A CALL TO LONG AGO
THE TROLL OF MYTHARRIA
SHALL AID YOU IN YOUR TASK
AND YOU SHALL NOT BE MARGINALIZED,
FORGOTTEN
WITH A CAUSE LARGELY LEFT TO BONES
AND TO BARREN DUST
Dear, dear Maya. I want to help. What can I do for you? I mean it. I know the situation you are in. Do you need just money? Would you like somewhere to go for a while and rest? This is way too much for you to endure. Did your parents really kick you out and won't help you? Please, be absolutely truthful Maya and I will help you.
Maya, please answer -- how are you doing?
Damn! And your dad claims to be all about family values!! I wonder if family values to him means leaving his own children to starve because they did not meet his expectations?!?
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