Arielle's Move to Save the World

Arielle here. I'm millimeters from being happy and prosperous in my life after 27 years of unique and exhausting struggle. The metaphorical millimeters I need to cross are a literal 3,127 miles--from Rhode Island to San Francisco. The connections I have, the opportunities I have, and the clients I need to fill up my schedule, are all in NoCal. I need your help to cover my rent, security, and cross-country drive by Feb. 1 (move-in date. My drive will begin around 1/22, and the more money I can get before then, the better).

 

What does a prosperous life for me look like/what exactly are you investing in?

 

1. Intimacy work/creating an intimacy professional who Actually Does Therapy Right.

 

When I move to San Francisco, I will be doing high-end intimacy coaching and professional cuddling. I will be perfecting this practice by attending conferences, acquiring certifications, and going through various trainings. I will be honing skills to pick up psychology-related research jobs in the communities I care about. And I will be saving up to attend a grad program (preferably joint-PhD) in Psychology to combine with Human Sexuality certifications to become a sex therapist/clinical sexologist. I am becoming more and more involved in running supporting communities of neurodivergent intimacy workers that I plan on growing on the west coast.

 

2. Cult prevention and recovery for many people.

 

In addition to intimacy work, I'll also be spending lots of energy researching cults and working to prevent toxic cult personalities from doing harm. I will be helping survivors find healing. I will be analyzing cults to find their helpful/uplifting/positive aspects and brainstorming how to form communities with these bits and not the toxic bits.

 

3. Love!

By donating, you will also be helping me be close to the Rationalist community, close to my romantic partners, and close to many of my most meaningful friendships. Also my love for humanity--in the Bay I suspect I will see many Needs of Humanity that I will be more and more ready to meet.

 

Here's my backstory:

I grew up in a small cult in rural Pennsylvania. I was physically involved in this until age 19, when I left for Messiah University (one of very few colleges it was acceptable for me to go to). Here I gained a very useless Writing degree that put me in a lot of student debt. I had reasoned and read my way out of spiritually and emotionally being in the cult by the time I was age 22. I entered the real world with nothing but a religious degree, my cult experience, debt, religious professional connections, and naivety.

 

I am now 27. I have had five "normal" years of poverty (sometimes I have not been able to afford food), frustration, exploration, and growth. I have met hundreds of people who are saving the world, brilliant, and wealthy, and they have taught me incredible and important things. [These connections confuse me, and all I can reason is that they find me worth the time because of my high openness and IQ]. The information that has been shared with me is something I have not had any opportunities to do anything with. Now I have an opportunity.

 

Financially, I am finally escaping poverty but had a rough month. In October 2021 through Thanksgiving of 2021, I managed to make $60k annual salary (3x more than my normal!). I had savings for the first time. And then the holidays happened and my 4-session-a-week trajectory paused. I have had one session since Thanksgiving. I had 5 sessions booked this last week. I had to cancel them because I caught the tummy flu. I had to use my savings to cover my costs of living. January 2022 already looks full of sessions! But I am scared to rely on just one month's worth of income to get me to San Francisco by February 1st--especially when I do in-person work and Covid is surging. Anything could happen.

 

Once I make it to SF, I will be increasing my rates even more, and will very easily make $100k/year. I need help just getting there.

 

I am in the habit of asking for opt-in support rather than singling people out to ask for support. It's too much pressure for people to be asked to help me one-on-one. What if they can't or don't want to? Then they might feel guilty or sad or resentful. I don't want that. So I am asking a broader community to share with me out of love and surplus. I swear your money will go to causes much greater than myself. I like to believe I'm an investment worth making in this world. Thank you <3