Emergency College Funds
Donation protected
First of all, I want to thank you for taking your time to even open up this page. Creating this Go Fund Me took a lot of vulnerability for me and I was fearful of what you’d think but I promise to be as honest as possible.
Some of you know me as Estevan. Some of you know me as my online artist name Izikiel. Regardless of who you know me as, my story remains the same. A few months ago I graduated from my Community College with a 3.6 GPA and received two Associate’s Degrees in the Social Science fields. This year I also got accepted into the University of California in Irvine which was one of the biggest accomplishments of my entire life. It was an overwhelming experience to open that acceptance letter and to know that all of my years of struggling with school, with who i was, and with who i wanted to be was worth it. I had set my heart on UC Irvine from the start because of its amazing School of the Arts and I did not look back. I will be studying Drama, Music, and the Digital Arts out there for 3 years. I feel blessed to have the opportunity to finally become more of a professional in what I have been passionate about since I was a little kid. The arts are my life and there is absolutely nothing in this world that has made me feel safer or more purposeful. By changing my educational goals to study what I’ve always really wanted, I finally feel more confident. I am so thankful to be able to attend this University and to learn the necessary skills to become the entrepreneur that i’ve always wanted to be and slowly build up my own name and business. I have to start and learn somewhere, and I feel like this is my chance. And i’ve never been more ready to pour my heart into studying and this is my fresh start.
As I get ready to move to this new city for University next month I am both scared and excited. I’ve never left the city I grew up in or know what it’s like to be on my own, but I feel like these past two years have taught me how to hold it down even in the hardest of times. It’s like I can feel myself getting ready to spread my wings.
But even though I can see myself flying, there is something that has been holding me back for quite a while now. That is financial insecurity. In this past year, i’ve worked two to three jobs at one time just to keep my mom and my little sister in a healthy, stable place but even then sometimes it hasn’t been enough. My mother has been breaking her back cleaning dirty apartments just to be able to help pay our rent. But even through these circumstances, with our collective efforts we have been able to save some money for my education. That is something I am proud of. But even then, we saw how those savings faded away so quickly because of early University payments I had to make. It just would not be enough for all of the things that I would need to be able to live on my own next month and get through my week-to-week life as both a student and an artist.
After the grants and loans I am getting, I still need help to pay for a laptop, the production and art programs I need to install on my laptop, textbooks, classroom fees, and for a bike that I need to use to travel to school and get around the city (the only car we have is going to stay with my mom, she needs it more than i do). These are all things that financial aid will not cover. I do plan to get a job out there once I transfer, but even then that money would go to helping my mom and my little sister back at home with their bills and my own living expenses including train tickets, bus rides, phone payments, and food.
I calculated the price for the things that I need and it would all be around $3,000 total. Anything that is leftover would strictly go towards my food, rent, or other bills I will need to keep paying when I transfer.
I might be taking a risk by leaving and choosing to immerse myself in my studies but it’s time that I took a chance on myself. It’s time that I finally spread my wings and told myself that i’m worth something new. That i’m worth this experience. That i’m more than just poverty and depression and sadness. It really does take a lot in me to reach out to ask for help, but I hope you’ll understand that I wouldn’t be doing this if I did not need the help.
Thank you so much for your donations and for your kindness, I truly love and respect all of you with all of my heart. I respect you for investing into my education. I respect you for investing into my goals. I respect you for investing into making my experience at University a more stable one. I will be praying for you so hard.
(If you leave your email in a comment or message me your email, I will send each of you who donate a personal Thank You letter. I love you, again.)
- Estevan L Hernandez
Some of you know me as Estevan. Some of you know me as my online artist name Izikiel. Regardless of who you know me as, my story remains the same. A few months ago I graduated from my Community College with a 3.6 GPA and received two Associate’s Degrees in the Social Science fields. This year I also got accepted into the University of California in Irvine which was one of the biggest accomplishments of my entire life. It was an overwhelming experience to open that acceptance letter and to know that all of my years of struggling with school, with who i was, and with who i wanted to be was worth it. I had set my heart on UC Irvine from the start because of its amazing School of the Arts and I did not look back. I will be studying Drama, Music, and the Digital Arts out there for 3 years. I feel blessed to have the opportunity to finally become more of a professional in what I have been passionate about since I was a little kid. The arts are my life and there is absolutely nothing in this world that has made me feel safer or more purposeful. By changing my educational goals to study what I’ve always really wanted, I finally feel more confident. I am so thankful to be able to attend this University and to learn the necessary skills to become the entrepreneur that i’ve always wanted to be and slowly build up my own name and business. I have to start and learn somewhere, and I feel like this is my chance. And i’ve never been more ready to pour my heart into studying and this is my fresh start.
As I get ready to move to this new city for University next month I am both scared and excited. I’ve never left the city I grew up in or know what it’s like to be on my own, but I feel like these past two years have taught me how to hold it down even in the hardest of times. It’s like I can feel myself getting ready to spread my wings.
But even though I can see myself flying, there is something that has been holding me back for quite a while now. That is financial insecurity. In this past year, i’ve worked two to three jobs at one time just to keep my mom and my little sister in a healthy, stable place but even then sometimes it hasn’t been enough. My mother has been breaking her back cleaning dirty apartments just to be able to help pay our rent. But even through these circumstances, with our collective efforts we have been able to save some money for my education. That is something I am proud of. But even then, we saw how those savings faded away so quickly because of early University payments I had to make. It just would not be enough for all of the things that I would need to be able to live on my own next month and get through my week-to-week life as both a student and an artist.
After the grants and loans I am getting, I still need help to pay for a laptop, the production and art programs I need to install on my laptop, textbooks, classroom fees, and for a bike that I need to use to travel to school and get around the city (the only car we have is going to stay with my mom, she needs it more than i do). These are all things that financial aid will not cover. I do plan to get a job out there once I transfer, but even then that money would go to helping my mom and my little sister back at home with their bills and my own living expenses including train tickets, bus rides, phone payments, and food.
I calculated the price for the things that I need and it would all be around $3,000 total. Anything that is leftover would strictly go towards my food, rent, or other bills I will need to keep paying when I transfer.
I might be taking a risk by leaving and choosing to immerse myself in my studies but it’s time that I took a chance on myself. It’s time that I finally spread my wings and told myself that i’m worth something new. That i’m worth this experience. That i’m more than just poverty and depression and sadness. It really does take a lot in me to reach out to ask for help, but I hope you’ll understand that I wouldn’t be doing this if I did not need the help.
Thank you so much for your donations and for your kindness, I truly love and respect all of you with all of my heart. I respect you for investing into my education. I respect you for investing into my goals. I respect you for investing into making my experience at University a more stable one. I will be praying for you so hard.
(If you leave your email in a comment or message me your email, I will send each of you who donate a personal Thank You letter. I love you, again.)
- Estevan L Hernandez
Organizer
Estevan Hernandez
Organizer
Moreno Valley, CA