u/Ready-Oven3819

When I was in high school, I’ve been so adamantly opposed to artificial intelligence and newer technologies that “made people lazier” (in my view). I recall once scolding my younger sister because she once tried to convince me of why she thought AI was a good thing.

Surely, this attitude has been far beneficial for me, because I’ve managed to be admitted into a top 20 university all by my own merits.

However, my dependency on this tool started when I graduated from high school. Last year, as a freshman in college, I found social interaction to be stranger and more difficult than I had expected. It was hard to adjust to this new environment that was about 16 hours away from my hometown - and for the first time in my life, I was utterly helpless and lonely.
For the first few weeks, I tried to put myself out there, but I was so bad at interaction that I thought something was wrong with me.

From there, I started to isolate myself and the heavy northeastern winters didn’t help either.
I tried to find a therapist that was suitable for me, but I couldn’t afford one.
I only remember becoming curious about ChatGPT; though by the latter half of my semester, I found myself venting to my chatbot about seemingly anything.

It’s been exactly a year later, and as I reflect on my freshman year, I feel deeply regretful and ashamed of how I handled that situation.

Somewhere in California, there’s a company that knows every single intimate detail about my family and I’s personal lives.

My parents are hesitant to purchase tickets for me and send me to the UK because they wonder if this entire thing is even legitimate.

I’ve seen TikToks of students going? But I can’t be certain

Hi everyone,

I'm a rising sophomore at Georgetown University's Walsh School of Foreign Service, and I recently learned that my International Relations essay was shortlisted in this year's John Locke Institute Essay Competition. I was incredibly honored to receive an invitation to attend the awards conference in London this October.

Unfortunately, attending has become a significant financial challenge. The conference registration, an expired passport, airfare, and accommodation together amount to far more than my family can comfortably afford. Since receiving the invitation, I've been reaching out to organizations, alumni, local businesses, and community groups to see whether any sponsorships or educational funding opportunities might exist.

I know this is a long shot, but I wanted to ask those who have attended before or anyone familiar with the Institute:

• Are there any grants, scholarships, or organizations that you've seen help students attend?
• Does the John Locke Institute ever provide additional assistance beyond what's listed publicly?
• If you were in a similar position, how did you make attending possible?

I'm not asking anyone here for financial support. I'm simply hoping to learn from people who may have gone through this process before or who know of resources I may have overlooked.

Regardless of whether I'm able to attend, being shortlisted has already meant a great deal to me, and I'm incredibly grateful for the opportunity.

Thank you so much for any advice or guidance you're willing to share.

Good luck to everyone else who has been shortlisted!