I go to a very expensive private university where the tuition is about $40,000, not including food or living expenses. However, I come from a lower-middle-class family and receive no help from my parents, so I pay for everything myself. On the day when the school posted the financial aid packages for the following year, I got up in the morning saying, “Today will be amazing, and money comes frequently and easily.” But when the awards were posted, mine was only about $5,000. I work part-time at minimum wage, and there is no way I could make up the additional $35,000 I would need for school.

Because I’d read The Secret, I started feeling gratitude and thanking God and the Universe for paying my school tuition. When I checked my Facebook page, I saw that a bunch of people were making negative comments about their award packages, saying things like “Bye, school,” “My education is over,” and “This is ridiculous and upsetting!” I just smiled and thought, At least I’m being fully paid for!

That afternoon I went to the financial aid office and was told that I could send them an email asking for my package to be reviewed, but it would take at least a week for them to get back to me.

I spent the rest of the afternoon asking people about scholarships and grants relating to art (which I study and create) but didn’t say anything negative about my school or the amount of my scholarship. I just sought financial advice and felt gratitude and love and prayed and thanked God for helping me pay for school, saying over and over, “Money comes easily and frequently,” with a smile on my face.

When I got home, I started to write my email to the financial aid office, but I wanted to double-check that my award was exactly $5,000, because I thought it might have been slightly more – maybe $5,150 or $5,200. Well, you will NEVER guess what happened when I pulled up my award on the computer. Somehow it had changed despite having been designated the “final award” earlier that day. In fact, I was being fully covered for the following year! I didn’t have to pay anything at all for school and would even have some extra money to go toward paying for my apartment.

I’ve used The Secret before, but in the past I’ve also had thoughts about how I work so hard and get such good grades but am still always so broke. Now I think I can do anything and I’m a good, deserving person who can have whatever I want. This should make a believer out of anyone!