Please help me get home

Dear friends,

I was informed this morning that someone who is the closest person to being my father was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. The doctors diagnosed him five weeks ago and at that time told him he had two months left here with us.

I need to get home to see him. I need to be home for him. I need to buy him grapes and read Clive Cussler novels with him and watch crappy tv and make him laugh. I need to try to get him to go outside and out into the wilderness he loves. 

My financial reality is that I'm a full-time student and, as many of you already know, I'm in the first five months of living in New York City.  I recently lost a job because they were unwilling to work with my class schedule. I have another job already but am not set to start training until next weekend. Therefore, I have not made any money from this new job and am living off of the small means made from my work study jobs. However, my income is barely covering rent as is and I am living train ride to train ride and receiving food waivers from school. I had cancelled plans to go home for the holidays due to not being able to swing it financially and knowing it would be better to work through my school break.

This news makes it clear that I need to ask you all for help. It does not feel good to have to do so. We are taught that asking for help, especially financially, is inherently shameful. I do not want to have to ask for help but I have lost too many people that I've not been able to say goodbye to and I know more than anything that I can't do that again.

We don't know how long he truly has. We don't know what will happen and how fast. My finals are this week but I am going to try to go home on Wednesday and e-mail all final papers to professors and pray they are cooperative. That being said, I have an extremely small window with which to assemble funding to get home which is why I am turning to gofundme and all of you.

I am buying a one way ticket because I don't know how this unfold. I am asking for help with January's rent because I will not be here to work. I am also asking for help with utilities and my phone bill for the same reason. I have around $600 to my name and will need that to land back on my feet whenever I return home.

One Way Ticket form Newark to Madison, WI for This Wednesday: $225

January Rent: $725

Utilities: $60

AT&T Phone Bill: $88

One Way Ticket from Madison, WI to Newark, estimating for sometime in January: $100

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TOTAL FUNDS NEEDED: $1,198 

WePay and GoFundMe fees (8% of campaign goal): $105

CAMPAIGN GOAL: $1,303 



I appreciate all of you so much. I understand that finances are tight for all of us. If you could throw $5 my way I would be so incredibly grateful. Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you. Thank you. I love you.