Help Daisy Achieve Her Dream of Studying in Taiwan

Hi! It's Daisy! :)

Many of you know this already, but just in case you missed the news, I'm going to be an exchange student in Taiwan for my junior year. I leave in August, 2024, and won't return for 11 months! It's hard to believe that I will be leaving behind all I've known for a brand new world.

I believe that being an exchange student will be one of the most rewarding and valuable experiences I could possibly have in my youth. I’ve grown up as an only child in the same town forever and I really want to broaden my horizons. I hope to get out of my comfort zone, build new friendships and try new things. I’m sure I will be very nervous at first, but the way to get the most out of life is to push yourself through. I am so excited to learn about the Taiwanese culture by being fully immersed. I believe that I will return as the best version of myself, in touch with myself and the world around me, and with amazing memories I will never forget.

There's still tons of stuff I need to do, like continue studying Mandarin like my life depends on it (oh wait, it does...), complete summer classes so I will be able to graduate with my class after my year abroad and I need to figure out what to pack for almost a year away from home - how will I fit my life into a couple suitcases?! Meanwhile, there's tons of paperwork and legal stuff to do, but it's all coming together.

As you might imagine, studying abroad isn't free. The program costs $8,000 and I have to have $2,000 of spending money in my account. It would be helpful to have a laptop as well since I'm not sure what I'll have access to for communicating back home and doing my studies. I've been super lucky that the local Rotary awarded me $1,000 scholarship and my parents are covering half of the costs for me. I've got some fundraising projects I'm going to do this summer, but with summer school, I don't have a lot of time to earn all I need.

I am hoping that my friends and family (and any generous strangers) would be willing to chip in and help me. In return, I promise to keep everyone updated on my adventure and to be a good citizen of the world!