As some of you know, I'm Sola. I started studying at Santa Clara University as a Computer Science major and eventually a theatre minor during the winter quarter of 2025. The thing is, well, it was a bit rough getting there and even just sustaining myself since then.
Rewind to the summer of 2024. I still lived with my parents back then. They had decided it was time for a family trip to India; six weeks out, then we'd be back to California, and I'd go on to college. That never really went through though; halfway through the trip, they broke it to me that we wouldn't be going back as the United States has supposedly made me transgender and gay. They cut me off from all my friends back in the USA, made plans for conversion therapy, and had even so far gone to make sure to get me enrolled in college in India and prepared an arranged marriage.
It wasn't really a good situation for me. I was only able to escape by waiting until I had finally turned 18 years old, sneaking out to go to the American Embassy in Chennai, and taking out a repatriation loan to pay for my 3 am plane ticket back to California. From there, I experienced homelessness for the remainder of the year, having to rely on the good will of friends to get by; I managed to work at an auto shop thanks to help of a good friend and through that I was able to get by until I reapplied for college and made it to Santa Clara University (SCU) which from there was able to help cover my food and housing concerns for the immediate moment.
Albeit it's still kinda rough to this day. I work two different jobs amidst my college workload in order to save money for my student loans yet I also have been doing my best to afford life saving gender affirming care for myself and working towards housing for the summer when I can't be on campus at SCU. The latter two have been a bit of a struggle, trying to make things work. That's why I turn here, asking for help such that I can help make ends meet this year. Even if you can't make a donation, simply resharing my story would be greatly appreciated. I've been working hard to sustain myself and navigate the murky bureaucratic system this past year and a half but I'm at a point where I do feel like I need some assistance so any and all help is greatly appreciated.