Hope.

The first donation was made (I am not sure who it is from...), and that really sparked hope into me. I knew that if this failed, I could refund the people, and that it would be okay... but that was obviously not an exciting thought.

I have made the decision to completely put myself into this. The program is hard enough to get into, regardless of the $11,000 fee, but there is no point in life without aspirations and dreams.

There are positive ways to look at everything. If 2,000 individuals gave me $5 each, I'd be nearly there. If the Global Leader scholarships are approved, I'll knock a pretty good chunk out of that. Why not break out of the apathetic mold, and do something HARD?

Thank you so much, whoever has made the initial $25 contribution; I will not let you down.

(If you're wondering why I set the "ChipIn" meter at needing $6,000, when I really need about $11,000 no matter what country--I was trying not to intimidate myself and others, I think. Also, it was a little bit of optimism that I could earn the other $5,000 through scholarships/personal income/etc. We'll see!)