a while back I was going through some fucked up money problems (let’s be real, when am I NOT going through some fucked up money problems????) right when I was awarded a full scholarship to Naropa Universities Summer Writing Program.

It was a program I had been dreaming about attending for years, and I just never had the guts or the belief in myself to even try applying. Well, this year, I did. I applied, and to my complete amazement, I got the scholarship that made attending possible.

But–like I said, I had those money problems. And it looked like I would be able to go–but then it was clear I wouldn’t. Although economically, W* and I are in a MUCH better place than what we were when I first started blogging, we’re finding that it takes a fucking long ass time to recover from being in poverty. Paying off bills that were left unpaid when you were not getting paid for working 40-50 hours a week…yeah. Recovering from that is hard.

And when small things happen…like, say, your car breaks down, you’re set back instantaneously. You’re no longer treading water…you’re drowning again.

It was only because of the open hearted generosity of very very dear women that I was able to attend the program. My car broke down and the money I had saved for airplane tickets had to go towards the car. And those women heard about it and insisted, one with fierce tears in her eyes, you’re going to that fucking workshop goddamn it. That woman with tears looked at me with *that* look–that–If I have to fucking walk up and down the streets to collect pop bottles so that you can go to that program, ain’t hell nor Jesus gonna stop me!

The generosity overwhelmed me–and it was only because of the love of those women that I was able to go. The time there changed my life–it changed my writing, it changed my spirituality, it softened and opened me. It gave me the chance to climb mountains.

And now I want to “pay it forward.” Noemi is in a similar situation that I was–maybe not with the “troubles’ part–but definitely short of funds to attend a writing conference.

Noemi has inspired me for years–her writing, her dedication, her realness, her sticking it out when I (and everybody else) gave up months ago. She deserves this amazing opportunity, and she shouldn’t not be able to go because of money. All artists need time around equals to become better artists–that is how artists work. They get inspired and are pushed by others who what to be inspired and pushed back.

A few bucks at a time will add up to what she needs–the art and skills that women of color put into the world are so needed and necessary. And that mountain is waiting for Noemi to climb it.

Please help if you can.