Collegiate Underbelly

       I know that I have not written in a while and for that I am sorry. So much has been going on in my life before I begin graduate school. In short, I have been working at least 6 days a week, reading a bunch of books from the optional reading list and working hard at building my savings account before the end of August.
       While I have heard back from one other scholarship (that of which I did not get), I have decided that if I do not get any scholarships out of what I applied to, the least I can do is work as much as possible before I start school. With both a job as a daughter and a sister, and with family that need financial support, I have watched as my saving account has peaked at 1,000 dollars and dwindle down to 100.00. This has been a reoccurring cycle for about 5 months. Because I need to help them secure a roof over their heads, buy groceries and pay for other bills that pop up along the way, it seems as though, as much as I put away, it quickly is gone.
       Although I do not buy myself lavish things or go on vacations, I always find time to go to lunch with co workers or friends. Its during these nice catch up sessions that a financial door was opened for me. However, I have yet to walk through it. Throughout my college career, I was slowly introduced to the term and category of "sex worker". While I never did anything that could have put me in that category, I became adamant about fighting for their rights as women and as workers. It was during this time that I realized how often the women I was in college with did some form of sex work in order to pay their bills. When most people hear the word "sex worker", they think prostitute or escort. However, there are a lot of others things one can do in the same industry that involve far less nudity and, for most, help finance college careers. As society becomes more attuned to the fact that there are different and enlightened ways to have sex, there will be more options to fund the lives of all forms of sex workers. This means selling worn underwear or socks, thigh highs or even supplying worn panties to Japanese vending machines.
       Because I am still waiting to hear from my list of scholarships and grants, and working full-time, I am hoping I will have at least 1,000 saved by the time I start school. However, in the back of my mind, I continuously wonder what I would be getting myself into if I had the ability, courage or time to devote myself to another form of work. Those thoughts will forever remain in the back of my mind and instead I will continue to hope for the empowerment and strength to make it through school on my own.

150 scholarships and counting.....