 I thought I was doing pretty well in life for a little while. I wasn't a domestic violence relationship, but I figured since my children were being taken care of, that everything was fine. So I was working, I was taking care of the household, and regardless of what was going on, we were stable for the most part. And I realized that my children weren't getting taken care of. I found out that one of them was being physically abused. And so I was left alone. I had to get a restraining order, and I had to call all these places to try and get an emergency move, so he wouldn't find my family and I. And so just throughout all this, I found myself jobless. I found myself needing help with food and cash. Textbooks are crazy to buy. You walk in there having high hopes that things aren't going to be expensive when they're used, but whether or not they're used or new, they're extremely expensive. It's rare that you can rent a textbook, and even renting a textbook can range around $70, just for a quarter. And so the other textbooks, one of my chiefest textbooks was like $60. So that's nice, but for that class, I needed three different books. I gathered my class schedule. I went to the bookstore and I found what books I was going to need. I didn't matter if they were newer used. Whatever the bookstore had available, I took down the price. I brought it to the women's program. And I think within the next 24 hours, I was able to get my books. There are a lot of people on campus who are struggling and who don't know that they can get help, but there's a lot of people who just don't qualify. But it seems like a lot of us here at Highline, there's a financial situation or a family aspect to it. And a lot of people do have to drop out of school because they find out in the first few weeks of school that they're not going to be able to get a book. And so there is no continuing that quarter. You just got to drop the class and hope you're able to get financial assistance somewhere else for your books. Sit back and think about it. How important an education is and how you do need books and supplies to get there. Frankly, the economy would be better if we had more people that were educated and able to get a stable job and income. And all of it starts with books. I started at Highline. See, it's been like three quarters. I think that was spring of 2018. And I'm studying for my mobile technology degree. It's an AAS. My name is Lydia, and I wanted to thank the Highline College Foundation from the bottom of my heart for all the support they've given me and to all the support that they offer Highline and the students here.