King's College London M.A.

I am finally at King's College London! After sooo many years of trying to get here. I can't believe how tenacious I really was and that I pulled this off.

The problem, though, is that it was quite expensive to come here. I was saddled with paying rent on an apartment in DC through January. I also was unable to find a cat-friendly flat in those first couple months. I am now running out of cash from my student loan and need your help.

After April I should be ok, but meanwhile I am unable to work as a freelancer due to visa restrictions. I am trying to find a part-time job here in the UK. Meanwhile, whatever you can manage will go toward my goal of getting the M.A. I'm about halfway there. Dissertation proposal turned in! Thanks!
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Here's what I wrote in the past:

Since 2009, I've been trying to get to King's College London.

This is ironic because in the early 1600s, my Dorchester-based ancestor, Capt. Richard Norman, was trying to get to America. He succeeded, landing at Marblehead, Mass. on the second ship to reach these shores.

Many generations later, my grandmother, Susie Kammerdiener,  née Norman, would encourage my pursuit of higher education - first with her collections of encyclopedias in South Texas, and later by guiding me as a scholar and writer. She once bragged to a friend, "My granddaughter's a wriiiiter," she said in her delicious Southern drawl.

It would be my ancestor Richard and my grandmother Susie who would inspire me most when I chose King's, though certainly the topic of my essay might have raised some eyebrows!

For in 2009, my essay for King's was, "Why Harris's List was Endemic to 18th century London." I included a key in which I spelled out (or as the Brits say "spelt") terms such as bawdy house (brothel).

I was, of course, thrilled when I got the e-mail from KCL stating that indeed, I had been admitted for autumn, 2009.

Wow!

The problem was that I couldn't afford to go. Working as a freelancer has been rewarding spiritually but not financially, and it was especially bad the deeper we got into the recession here in the States. I have supplemented my income with tutoring, but that has ebbed and flowed too.

I've had to defer studies several times; as well as reapply to KCL with a whole new essay, this time on Hume, in which I had a personal conversation with him by cell phone. My statement this time was likening my quest to Diana Nyad's. I would be an older student, and King's was my Cuba.

I have, of course, applied for scholarships. I have not been successful. The thing about being accepted to the university deemed no. 16 in the whole world means that one is in a room full of very smart people. That's the way I want it. That's the way it should be. Obviously not everyone can get  a scholarship. But I have tried.

Now I turn to you. I can't bear the thought of abandoning this plan. I refuse to call it a "dream". A dream is being able to fly or defy gravity here on earth. These things are impossible. My plan is not. My plan is to realize what I should have pursued as a fresh-faced kid out of San Francisco State, way back in 1985!

Please help me get there. I am happy to work in exchange for your gift: as an editor, writer, proofreader, typist, English tutor. If you're local, I'll catsit or housesit.  See some of my published samples here: www.muckrack.com/laurie-wiegler.

You can read one of the articles I've written that were about London properties, e.g. the Dickens house:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/55847778/Remembrance-of-London-Past-by-Laurie-Wiegler-p-1
http://www.scribd.com/doc/55848307/Remembrance-of-London-Past-by-Laurie-Wiegler-p-2
http://www.scribd.com/doc/55848720/Remembrance-of-London-Past-by-Laurie-Wiegler-p-3
http://www.scribd.com/doc/55848986/Remembrance-of-London-Past-by-Laurie-Wiegler-p-4


After graduating, the US Dept of Educ. will write off some of my Graduate Plus loan if I work in an area such as where I volunteered in 2003, at East Harlem Tutorial Program, each Saturday. I might also consider teaching in New Orleans, a city I've covered extensively for several years in my environmental and hospitality reporting. I love Harlem and I love New Orleans, and I love the thought that one day I could help the children there.

Thank you in advance.

I hope to write you a letter from the UK in due course.

(This is a photo taken when I was in London in the summer of 2008, before my financial situation collapsed due in large part to the recession. I have not been back to London since. While on this trip, I passed the Ben Franklin House - and that is when I first got the idea that I should study the 18th c.)

NOTE: I almost made it this year. But after applying for my visa Sept. 16, I got sick and had to reschedule my biometrics appointment. Problem was, I couldn't do that without paying another fee (and waiting a long time for a refund). I have alerted the visa4UK people, King's College, even the Prime Minister! I had no choice but to pull out for this year and have requested another deferral. I am determined to get there in 2017, and there are many people behind me! Thank you!