Help this queer dandelion seed go fancy places

Hi y'all,

As most of you know, I was accepted into a poetry residency I've been applying to for several years: the Vermont Studio Center. Unfortunately, I applied for but wasn't awarded a fellowship, which means the three-week residency cost is $4,250 (!!!!).

Obviously, this is an institutionally prohibitive cost, and I was actively making peace with having to turn it down and re-apply to a new jury next year (they only offer seven fellowships at a time). As a way to process my feelings, I made a little post about it on Facebook and was immediately flooded with comments and messages from y'all offering to support me in this. Because the cost is so wild (x3 the cost of my entire monthly rent), and because so many of you offered support this past winter when my partner and I were thrown into an emergency housing situation, I felt totally uncomfortable allowing myself to accept your support in this way. However, a few of my dear ones have given me some pep talks about letting people choose for themselves where they place their support and generosity, normalizing asking for help, and practicing being able to receive what I ask the universe for when I, for example, fill out an application in the first place. And I can't argue with those points because they're the kind of points I would make if *you* needed support. So here we are.

Full transparency: I added a little bit to the end goal amount to bite some of the deduction of the GFM fees (these platforms are ruthless).

Many of you know I have a chapbook coming out this fall and have been working on a full-length body of work for a while. Residencies are so important for the project process, and your belief in my work is tangible right now. This particular residency isn't one I have ever imagined I could attend without a fellowship.

Thank you for believing in whatever the heck I'm doing with my life.

Love forever, in all ways, always,

A