Hi! I'm Kat.

You may or may not know me by another name, Jessica. You may or may not know me by yet another name that shan't be communicated outside of hushed whispers and within shady basements. But I digress.

Short and sweet of it: I'm looking to raise a little bit of money to afford tuition for this upcoming college term. I'm seeking to complete an undergraduate degree in Art. My tuition balance stands at $1,822, at least a third of which is due by the first week of the term: Monday, January 5th. It's my hope that with some collective action, I'll at least be able to make that payment while I string together efforts to pay for the rest of it.

Many, if not all of you, already understand how difficult it is for me to ask for help. I am not typically willing to disclose when I'm dealing with difficulty, which essentially puts asking for help with anything completely out of reach. So -- please believe me when I say that I've exhausted a great many avenues for figuring this financial issue out.

A long time ago, I had given up on the idea of finishing my degree. It felt, for so long, like a goal that was meant for everyone else except for myself. As anybody even remotely familiar with my work history can tell you, I've hacked and scrapped my way through one industry after another, in search of a profession that can truly sustain me. It's my belief now that one of the things standing in the way of me even procuring a "day job" to sustain my creative practice is my lack of a degree.

Again, my hope here isn't for a full ride financed by all of you. No; what I'm asking for is a helping hand to kick start my journey back into academia. I've made a lot of really great strides in finding ways to work within my neurodivergent burnout (an admission my inner-self is desperately trying to get me to redact), and I feel -- no, I know that I'm prepared for the challenges that lie in wait for me along the way.

It's always been my truest core belief that I am here by the grace, patience, and pure, concentrated efforts of my loved ones and the people around me. I continue to exist because I have been lucky enough to find myself surrounded by humans who, for whatever reason, keep trying to remind me that I'm good and that I'm worth, well... anything.

Let this academic journey, then, be a testament to the love I've been given, and maybe -- just maybe -- it can be a small bit of concrete proof that I'm beginning to believe that you're all right about me.

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Any funds raised above the goal will be directed towards the various costs for the term: books, supplies, coffee, gas, and even future terms.