Shameless plea for money (no, really...)

I'm hoping to raise at least enough money for the 25% down payment by the end of October. Please help if you can.

W.E.I.R.D. is Beautiful

Think back to third grade. Teachers and other adults are still huge and have supernatural powers. You slip up and call your teacher "Mom" and your mom "Mrs. So-and-so" more often than you'd like to admit. You think of yourself as the weird kid. Maybe you have a birthmark on your face. Maybe you're a biracial kid with blond, frizzy curls. Maybe you're taller/shorter/skinnier/fatter/hairier/frecklier/buck-toothier than the rest of the kids. Everybody is different, but kids are mean. They'll find whatever it is that makes you different and make you feel horrible about it.

Now, think of the beautiful people you know. That biracial woman with blond hair is one of the most exotic beauties you've ever met. You couldn't imagine that friend without her unusual birthmark and think she's prettier because of it. The tall/short/skinny/fat/hairy/freckly people all stand out in your mind, but they all have their own unique beauty and help make the world a more interesting place. Oh, and the buck-toothed kid got braces in middle school, making him really weird for a while, but now he has a gorgeous, movie star smile.

My point is, we don't have to wait until we're adults to appreciate what sets us apart from the crowd. It's okay to be different, unique, even weird.