Hello, my name is Cosmo. Hopefully, if you're reading this, you already know a bit about me, but in case you aren't familiar with me, let me introduce myself. I am a 26-year-old non-binary person that has been living authentically myself since 2019.

I've been in a constant battle of racking up debt to survive and paying it down just to get ahead since I was 18 trying to put myself through college. I've worked 40...80 hour weeks between school and work trying to just get ahead, then just to stay afloat.

In 2023, I started to dream of what I would do if I wasn't stuck in the cycle of constantly trying to make ends meet. I discovered Workaway, a platform that connects hosts with travelers who are on a budget. I could stay in places all over the world for free, as long as I exchanged 20 hours of volunteer work a week. Little did I know that in April 2024, my partner and I would do just that for 6 months in Alaska, visiting 3 very welcoming hosts. It changed my life. We bought a van to travel around The Last Frontier and left it there with one of those hosts with the promise of returning this spring to bring her down to the Lower 48 and start the low-cost, van life of my dreams.

It was really difficult to leave Alaska... I almost didn't. I was so afraid that I would get stuck back on the East Coast by some unexpected emergency or financial burden, and well... I guess I had reason to worry because that is the very situation I find myself in now.

One of my creditors has decided to sue me for over 5k... as you can probably infer from my story, I do not have 5k. I have always understood that my option in this situation would be bankruptcy. Even that is going to cost upwards of 2k in lawyer and filing fees... this was not something I accounted for on top of the $2k it is going to cost for me to put new tires on the van AND pay for gas all the way from The Last Frontier to SWVA. It's just not realistic....so new plan...get a different van closer to here.

My first instinct is to give up, give in, find another job doing something I can tolerate to keep paying rent and make ends meet... and eventually... maybe I will be able to follow my dreams. My second is to cry because I am so close. I felt the wind in my hair driving the van. I woke up to the frost on my nose and the mountain view out my window. It is everything I want in life, and I am so close and the thought of losing that now... after having a taste... it's soul-crushing.

My birthday is coming up on March 12th. And this year all I want for my birthday this year is financial freedom. I hope that this will help me get there. I've set this at $3k to help me cover the costs of bankruptcy and getting a new to me van to move into by the end of this year. I understand that it is a steep goal, maybe too much to ask to be honest, but I sincerely hope you will consider helping me meet it. Even if you are unable to donate directly, sharing this through your social network would be very much appreciated. Thank you for giving me your time today.