How was it all possible...

There is absolutely no way I could have gone where I did and that I could have done what I did without the help of those back home. I had wanted to study abroad for quite some time, but what always stood in my way, apart from winning the approval of my parents, was the financial aspect. I was defeated when I got to thinking about how I could ever raise all that money, because the answer.... it is impossible.... is what always seemed to surface. Then I got to thinking about the possibility of student loans. Prior to my semester in Spain I always did my best to apply for every grant and scholarship possible, and along with the support of my family I was able to stay debt free. So when I started debating whether I wanted to rack up some debt, I cringed. That is not the route I wanted to take, but if need be I would do it. Then I started to explore some other scholarship and grant options for study abroad students. That's when I discovered, with the help of one of my advisors, the Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarship. It was a scholarship that could offer up to $5000 for students studying abroad. I was overwhelmingly happy at this discovery. I immediately started working on the application and essays instantly which gave me about a month and a half to complete everything before the due date. A couple of months later I received an email reporting to me that of thousands of applicants mine was one of those chosen to receive $4500. To cover the rest of the necessary funds (totaling around $17,000) I received from the Texas Tech Study Abroad Scholarship, Government grants, good ol' fashioned hard work, as well as a scholarship I received from my hometown church in Amarillo Texas. As for spending money.... well I received all of that as gifts from family and friends for Christmas as well as a birthday gift package in the form of money that I received from my parents while abroad. It was hard to make all of these numbers finally add up, but thanks to the generosity of many such as the Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarship I was able to accomplish my dreams and finally study abroad and go global with my education.