To whoever this has reached (I hope this message finds you well),
earlier this year I graduated from my combined modern languages degree. A key part of an MFL degree is a mandatory year abroad which I had been looking forward to since I got into university in 2016. I was very fortunate to be able to complete the first half of my year abroad by studying in Germany allowing me to become a fluent German speaker; however, my semester in Beijing was cancelled two weeks before my scheduled departure date due to Covid. I was heart broken but tried my best to self study in the time we were all stuck at home hoping for this situation to be over. Despite having undiagnosed ADHD until the end of my degree and having missed out on this key experience which many of my classmates got the chance to partially complete, my perserverence allowed me to graduate with honours. However, my university never made up for this situation despite it being a mandatory aspect of the course and a key reason as to why I chose the university that I did. My Mandarin is nowhere near the level it would be all because of this unfortunate circumstance which is very concerning to me as I’ve dedicated my entire adult life to the study of culture and languages. I am ready to pursue my career as a translator but incorporating Mandarin into my skill set would be very irresponsible without proper experience. I have put my life on hold to save money in order to move to Taiwan for a few months to finally gain the skills I would have gained if it wasn’t for this unfortunate situation; however, this is where my problem lies.
I come from a first generation working class migrant family. I have worked very hard to create these opportunities for myself but I do not come from any kind of wealth. Throughout my time at university I have spent the majority of my arranged overdraft in order to lessen the financial burden of being the first member of my family to attend university. I have been working 3 jobs day and night as a medical interpreter, a support worker at a local charity, and working part-time at a fast food restaurant in hopes to earn enough money to safely move to Taiwan. However, this overdraft has kept me at 0 for months. I’m starting to really give up on life knowing that I’m trying my best and seeing 0 progress especially because if it wasn’t for covid I wouldnt have had to fund this trip all on my own. I’m feeling extremely depressed and like I’ll never get out of this rut but trying to remain positive. I completely understand that this situation may not be as dire as many other ones but I would really appreciate any possible help. I’ve been translating and self studying languages since I emigrated to England at the age of 9 with no knowledge of the language but it feels like I’m further behind than ever. Many of my peers in the industry have a lot more financial privilege and I’m so happy for them but at the same time I can’t help but wonder why the road is made so much steeper for those who don’t have financial freedom.
I’ve been trying to become more financially literate and know I have the knowledge and skill set to never end up in such a situation again but I’m simply exhausted have no space to take up more work (although I still take on freelance translation jobs whenever I can).
Any and all help would be beyond appreciated and even if nothing comes of this it’s just nice to feel heard.
I wish all the supporters and posters on this site so much good. There is a lot of good in this world, and more than enough resources for us to thrive.
If you are interested in donating my paypal is: https://paypal.me/Konstancja98?country.x=GB&locale.x=en_GB
Thank you ❤️