I can't pretend to have the highest expectations... But it's worth a shot. Stranger things on the net have happened.

I'm here because I want to learn. It's really that simple. I want to learn, and grow, and develop the skills I need to make a difference, in myself and maybe the world.

Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to be the first in my family to finish college. I'd tell myself, this is going to make them proud. I wanted to do it just to prove that it could be done; against the odds, to go out and do something with myself, then turn that degree into something so much more. As a kid, I dreamed of holding it in my hand, like a magic wand, unlocking doors and unearthing great oportunities. It would be my epic weapon against the end boss. Maybe I played too much Nintendo, but it kept me a dreamer until now.

After my brother died, I dropped out of highschool, working fulltime to start at a community college as soon as I could. At first I felt like I was just trying to mimic all the things that he didn't get the chance to accomplish, to make sure that a life so full of potential was lived up to... But I couldn't. It wasn't my path. And it took me a long hard time to find a path that felt true to myself.

Now, after an unfortunately timed string of semesters where I was diagnosed Bipolar, on top of a few bouts of pnuemonia, my GPA isn't what it could be. I'm eager to prove I can do better... I know that I can.

I'm looking to raise the money for this semester's tuition, which begins Feb 2nd, to continue pursuit of my Computer Science degree. I still hold my childhood ideals, now intermixed with the sobriety of adulthood, that I can use the skills I learn to create opportunities in the Tech Industry that will mean something; to affect the kinds of change that might help the world someday.

I might not have the raw talent, but I've got the heart, and the desperate want to learn.