i’ve been rapid cycling between feeling confident and utterly fatalistic. i need the money. but i really need the validation that would come from this. my peers look at me like some dumb yokel, a kind of curio piece that speaks fluently about economics but can’t tell chèvre from monterey jack. i wear my poorness on my teeth and my scrubby clothes and long hair. the other night my girlfriend’s aunt said, “where do you go to school?” and i pulled my collar over my head and said, “a community college.” the look of quiet indignation almost killed me. umbrage!
we all need this for the same reasons; we all have unmet financial need. truthfully, i feel honored competing with all of you. we are a group of students that must fight the gravitational pull toward existing in poverty. it’s the chain that too commonly breaks our stride. i’m confident that you all intend to do good work… distributive justice and peace work and honest work, and help disrupt the system producing “unmet financial need.” if i don’t win, i’m glad someone in my socioeconomic class does.
@optimisticky - In the US we are only relatively poor. On an absolute scale, even our poorest fare pretty well. Moreover, in the US we have so many different avenues for getting a very good education for well below the cost of what is actually worth. For instance I am pretty sure that most of us qualify for the Pell grant and other state level grants to help pay for school, and even if we don’t win the JKFC transfer scholarship we will likely be able to get other aid and scholarships through the universities we intend on transferring to. Free money, just to get an education. My girlfriend, who also applied for the transfer scholarship, is an international student from Japan. She was so shocked to find out about the numerous types of aid and assistance available to us in America. There is no equivalent to a Pell grant in Japan. There are no grants period. In fact, even what they call scholarships over there are nothing more than loans. In other words, if you receive a “scholarship” in Japan, you still have to pay back every bit of it. We are truly blessed in the US to be able to come from such humble beginnings, and even make many poor life decisions, and yet still have the opportunity to attend the some of the top universities in the world for free. It’s hard work of course, but it’s possible nonetheless. I really hope socioeconomic status plays a very minor roll in the decision process, and that the winners are picked primarily based on character and their plans to better the world.
I think whether we’re talking about the poor living in tenements along a Tokyo tramway, or the poor crammed in “Section 8” housing blocks in Cleveland, the moral injustice is the same, even if the net resources are different. Relative poverty is an economic and sociological distinction, not a personal one. All squalor is intolerable. You write that it should be based on character, but how an individual balances their needs and desires with their resources is a big determinant of that. A person that is generous with wealth is somewhat different in moral stature than a person that is generous without it.
Anyway good luck! Hope you and your girlfriend both receive the scholarship.
Honestly, I was having the same mind-set this morning about the fact that I don’t have a very comforting chance of winning this scholarship. But I worked my ass off to get to the point that I am at with my education and I don’t plan on stopping until I get my degree. Will this scholarship help? Without a single doubt. But I doubt any of us will stop reaching and fighting for our goals and dreams even if we don’t win this scholarship. I hope everyone on here the best of luck and I do believe all of y’all will go very far in not just your education but your lives.
You are right bro. This is not end of the world. If you won congrats, if not, then move on. Maybe working harder for your degree without scholarship might prepare us better for our future lives.Anyways, I wish all of you best of luck.
I totally agree. That’s why I said 4% chance, because that’s amazing! People say it would take a miracle or that it’s impossible, but a 4% chance, although small, is awesome just because of the simple fact that we have all worked so hard that we even HAVE a chance of getting the most prestigious community college transfer scholarship in the country!! I’m actually hopeful about winning, and if I don’t win, it’s not the end of the world. Just means that the Universe had other things in store for me
the real winners are our girlfriends and boyfriends and families and dogs and cats that have to put up with us obsessing over this thing.
i think about receiving the rejection e-mail and my heart dips. i picture my physical application sitting in the discarded pile to be shredded later and a mirage image of me in collegiate blues smiling confidently for an invisible camera as i reach for a scroll of gold paper fades away. i’m trying to reconstruct the reality that existed before i heard about the JKC money, because that’s the one i should be focused on. but my dumb greed and vanity…
i’m supposed to be writing a long and monotonous essay on the role of renewables in the military but instead i’m fishing google for any clue or leak about the results of this thing.
Just plan on not receiving the scholarship… If you get it surprise! If not move on. You’re more likely to not receive, so don’t plan your future as a result of receiving the scholarship…
@spud199 great advice dude, thanks. I keep downplaying my backup choice in my head which will make me disappointed if I don’t win… but my backup is still good and I will still go as far in life as I want to.
It really isn’t the end of the journey. I think a lot of us are too unstable to hear bad news. I’m fully prepared for the news, good or bad. I’ve had my share of rejection and acceptance. It’s just unfortunate that money has so much control over us.
@spud199 It’s a complicated situation for everyone on here. I don’t think unstable is the right way to put it, or that it’s just about being able to handle rejection or acceptance. For me, not winning this scholarship means continuing to be homeless. Winning it means finally having a stable living situation while I’m in school, after 5 years of homelessness. I’m fully prepared for the news as well, good or bad, but it’s more than just money for a lot of people… it’s a saving grace. Of course it’s not the end of the journey, but let’s not downplay this and act like it’s simply a matter of not being able to handle rejection.
@spud199 I went through depression in the past that doesn’t make me unstable. I don’t know about @kpcosmic, but @kpcosmic might understand. Going through all these things makes you a stronger person. Maybe even stronger than anyone who hasn’t been through anything because through it all you have learned coping skills that others might not have been able to learn which can get your through pretty much anything. And I think everyone has had their share of rejection and acceptance it’s part of life. For me, if I don’t get the scholarship I already have another plan. @kpcosmic I hope everything works out for you.
won’t even lie. when i receive my rejection e-mail, i’ll be gloomy for a month. just sit back and envision it… one phone call, as though a magician waved a wand before your empty table and filled it with roast duck. i think my legs would give out. i literally think i would faint and be forced to swallow the smug feeling.
i’m so agitated with excitement! win or lose, what a weird thing to endure! like waiting for the headman’s ax. except possibly he’ll extend an arm, or possibly he’ll bring down his awful blade.
anyway, sorry to hear about your fortune @kpcosmic.
promise that if any of ya’all hear anything, you immediately log on and gloat.
@kpcosmic I’m sorry to hear about your situation. You’re im my thoughts and prayers.
Unstable probably wasn’t the best word to use, but I just don’t think we should all get so wrapped with the scholarship because win or lose we will still reach our goals. Everyone in here is determined and successful. I guess what I’m trying to say is dont let the rejection of the scholarship throw your goals off course.