My name is Sarah and I am a (very!) recent graduate of Scripps College in Claremont, CA. Being a Scripps alum means more to me than I can explain. Scripps was my dream college since my freshman year of high school. I did everything I could to get accepted to Scripps- I had a new French class added at my high school so I could meet the foreign language course requirements set by Scripps admissions, I took and re-took ACT practice tests and tests until I raised my score high enough to be a competitive candidate, I called the admissions department almost daily to ask more questions about how to apply and get in, I was able to apply to Scripps as a Questbridge Scholar and although I did not match with Scripps, I still remember receiving my acceptance letter on the afternoon of Christmas Eve. My dad, who is a single parent and who never went to college nor finished high school, cried harder than I did when I told him the news. The first person ever in my family was going to college!

After I got to Scripps I worked really hard to stay there. My sophomore year at Scripps I had my initial on-set of what would be become several years of bizarre mental health symptoms. I slipped into a bipolar depression that took control over my life so strongly that I was nearly forced into leaving Scripps. I was failing all of my classes and losing motivation for the degree that I had been daydreaming about since I was fourteen years old. Several diagnoses later, from bipolar II to bipolar I to schizoaffective disorder, I found the "right for me" medications, support systems, and self-help tools that allowed me not only to stay at Scripps but to graduate with highest honors and the equivalent of a 3.5 GPA.

I know that I would not have been successful at any other college than Scripps. Scripps wanted me to succeed. My professors were sending me daily emails telling me that I could do it and that they believed in me! My friends were always caring and supportive of me and my brain chemicals. The dean's office checked in on me every week to make sure that I was on track with my assignments and medications. And when I was 3 credits shy of graduating, Scripps College granted me permission to stay on an extra semester so I could earn my degree.

Because I needed to stay at Scripps for an extra semester, I was not allowed to walk with the 2014 graduation ceremony. I am, however, very much invited to walk with the Class of 2015. The Commencement Ceremony for the Class of 2015 is scheduled for May 16th. I cry just thinking about wearing a seafoam green cap and gown and walking across the stage to pick up the most expensive piece and most difficult to attain piece of paper I will ever lay my hands on. I cry harder when I realize that I might not be able to go to my own graduation because of financial reasons. If going to Scripps had been my big dream, then walking across the stage and shaking LBV's hand while my Dad watches from the audience is ... oh my gosh I'm crying too hard to explain this. Then again, I also broke down in tears at matriculation. Walking across the stage would mean more than I can ever explain to someone who is not a Scrippsie. I don't think anyone else would ever understand.

I really need your help in sending me and my father to Claremont, CA for my graduation ceremony. Neither of us can afford the plane tickets, the rental car, or the hotel. We've had a lot of financial set backs this year already that are too long and boring to explain.

Since graduating in January of 2015 I have moved home in hopes of studying for the GRE this fall so I can apply to both English PhD programs and Creative Writing MFA programs. I have published my first book, which was also my undergraduate thesis, and I have started working on another manuscript of poetry. I am also still actively searching for better solutions for mental illness. I am constantly using my Scripps education beyond what I could have imagined was possible.