Goal

Please support a wonderful organization while helping me stay focused on earning my master's degree this year!

Here I am in my second term at the London School of Economics! While I didn't get too far behind in my first term, I was still not as motivated to stay on top of reading and revising for my classes as I wanted. I've always been a procrastinator, but for some reason I've become even lazier at studying than ever before. I don't know why, but have a hunch: maybe I'm bored or disillusioned with my subject, maybe I'm homesick and miss my friends, maybe I'm wondering why I left a well paying job in this economy, at my age, and moved ~5000 miles away from my beloved metropolis (well, I did need a break), but honestly, there is really no excuse for me not to do the work and to Rock This Master's Degree!

My goal is thus:

1. Get caught up on all of the Michaelmas Term (that's last term) reading for my most difficult subject, Urban Economics.

2. Stay on top of the reading for all three classes in Lent Term - finish the reading for each *before* lecture. Not only read, but actually take notes and process the material.

3. Make incremental and meet-able goals for the 2-3 formative essays I will need to write in Lent Term and finish the first drafts of my two assessed essays *before* spring break. (They are due the first week of summer term.)

4. Finally, make and meet small goals in preparation for writing my dissertation, and finish the 2nd draft one week before it is due on August. 24.

Whew - it sounds like a lot, but it is really just a normal day in the life of a grad student!

How can you help? You can show your support of my goal and of ATC by donating! All of your donations will go to ATC and will allow them to continue their very important work.

I chose this goal because

It is important for me to do well in my MSc in Regional and Urban Planning Studies at LSE because second chances don't always come along. I didn't do well in high school and I almost didn't graduate. I never thought I would go to college, so I simply went to work. Work was great - I nearly became a paralegal without a formal education. But it wasn't satisfying. Then California's community college system presented itself to me as "too cheap NOT to go" so I started. It took forever - I took the slow part-time student road. I never intended to attend UC Berkeley, but did anyway. It almost didn't happen because I didn't apply until the very last minute! Cal opened up roads for me, but with forks throughout! I had never been faced with so many choices. Which path would I choose? Did I really want to attend grad school? At MY age?? Applying to LSE was easy - but I had doubts. I delayed for a year, never got around to applying to another school, then figured here's my chance and I would always regret not going, so here I am!

I am going to admit that I am lazy by nature and a worrier on top of it. A lot of the time I hold myself back out of a lack of confidence, a fear of failure, and fear of discomfort in the learning/doing process. I take procrastination to new heights. It has already set me back in my goal - I am halfway through my degree and I've spent far too much time on Facebook and far too little time studying. I make excuse after excuse as to why I can't possibly read just one more paragraph of a highly theoretical academic article or write just one more paragraph (or even begin to write!) of an essay that is due. I pledge to stop wasting so much time, to reconnect with myself and my dreams, and to better connect with my friends in a more meaningful and deeper way than just checking status updates on Facebook. In the end, I think it will make me happier, and I hope it will help all of us be happier.

"Keep these concepts in mind: You've failed many times, although you don't remember. You fell down the first time you tried to walk. You almost drowned the first time you tried to swim… Don't worry about failure. My suggestion to each of you: Worry about the chances you miss when you don't even try." Sherman Finesilver

I'm helping because

I feel that all of the clients and potential clients of At The Crossroads deserve not only second chances, but FIRST chances. I really like At The Crossroads' method of reaching out to homeless youth and young adults in a non-judgmental manner. I remember being young, naive yet knowing it all, and having some mistrust of "higher authority" (ok, I still do!), and definitely a mistrust of those who would rather young people adhere to certain ways of life or mannerisms since "they know best." At The Crossroads comes across as an organization that is less about being the adults who "know best" and more about letting the young people they support find their own way in life while allowing for both achievements and failures along the way. ATC is there for them even if it is just to provide a new pair of socks or to listen to a story.

I have volunteered for ATC and plan to do so again when I return to the Bay Area because the services they provide are quite dear to me. There are so many reasons why youth and young adults may be homeless or may have insecure housing, and I feel it is not up to us to judge why or to blame them for their choices or lack of choices. I wish ATC had been around when I was young - not for me, but for my friends who found themselves homeless after their parents disapproved of them (or worse) for being gay or even just for having weird hair and clothes. Sadly, some of those kids didn't make it far in life and this is why I support ATC in their efforts to help even just one more young person who might not have many other chances in life.