So... Clarion is expensive, and I'm short money right now.

I'm writing this post to ask for money. There's a proposition at the end of it, regarding the money, should I get any.

Need I say that I really want to go? I've been emailing/IMing back and forth with some of my other classmates and they're all really cool people.

If I cleared out both of my accounts, I'd still be a few hundred dollars short of what I owe. That would, of course, be assuming the happy world in which rent was magically free for everybody. I kind of doubt that world exists. (And since what I've got is loan money that I originally took out to pay the tuition that's currently sitting on my credit card... I'm somewhere deep in negative dollars land, anyway.)

I'm hesitant to go to my parents at this point - there's a reason they needed me to pick up my last quarter's tuition, after all. Plus, when I told my mom about getting in, the first thing she asked was "How much is it?"

I don't want to clear my account out entirely - though I will if it comes to that - because of the WA to IL road trip this June. It's going to be expensive, and between moving into a new house, tuition, and Clarion, the cash for it more or less went away. I'd drop it if it was just a vacation, but I'm doing it to help a friend move out of a bad situation. I promised I'd help.

So... donations? I can't offer anything in return, not cool art, nor awesome flash stories. (Though if that changes, I'll let everybody know). I'm finishing two degrees and have four part time jobs on the books - which doesn't amount to all that much at minimum wage. So I don't really have a lot of creative time for drawing stuff. I ought to be grading physics papers right now as it is.

If you'd like to help me get to Clarion, here's a button to my Paypal account. I'll be collecting until the end of the month.

My proposition is this: If I get donations this year, I will pay those forward to the scholarship fund for next year's class. The whole amount, rounded up to the nearest $100, as soon as I save it up when I get back.



If you're donating, you should also think about giving money to the Clarion Foundation, proper:

Clarion Foundation website

That way, you can help my classmates out, too. (There are some scholarships that the Clarion Foundation wants to award, but the funds are low.)

And if you know anybody who might want to help out, feel free to pass the link(s) around.

I'm sure I'll find a way to pay for everything, no matter what, but the 30% APR on cash advances makes me sick to my stomach.

EDIT: Oh wow. You all are all amazing. I just got back from class and all I can say is that you are already made of Win.

Also, Lisa Mantchev is awesome enough to offer swag that I don't have to offer myself, namely: if you donate to me or Clarion, she'll put your name in a drawing for an ARC when it exists. And pop rocks chocolate. That stuff is crazy good.

EDIT EDIT:
These numbers stand for dollars. I can't believe I'm already a third of the way there!

1,185 / 1,500 (79.0%)