Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Appeal Letter

My name is Yonghun Shin, and I have just completed my 4th year at Queen's University. I am writing this appeal letter to withdraw my courses from last year's courses that I took from September 2015 to April 2016. Throughout last academic year, I have gone through some difficult time that I still find hard to explain to anyone else. I never thought about appealing my courses until my counselor Freeman Woolnugh suggested during our session. Throughout last year especially, I went through a time where I just did not feel like myself. I feel that this would be the best way to describe how I was for last year. When I talked to Freeman, I realised that I have been gradually feeling this way since getting back from the military service. It finally hit me hard last semester. To my friends, family, and/or anyone else that have met me before, they know me as a positive, optimistic, outgoing guy. Although my marks from my university haven¿¿t been the best, I have always worked hard. However, for last few years, especially last semester, I spent most of my time in my room, not doing anything. I had a very little appetite for food. I would sleep in until noon. I did not exercise at all. I did not spend much time with people around me unless I felt obligated to. When my friends asked me if I wanted to hang out, I told them that I wasn¿¿t feeling well. I went incognito for some times as long as two weeks without contacting anyone else. All these are just not who I am. I used to be very active. I always found time to hang out with people I care about. I would almost never skip a meal. Being a morning person I am, the latest I ever slept in would be 9 or still morning if it ever happened. I only went to few of my lectures. I spent most of my time either staring at the ceiling or mindlessly browsing through websites. When I got too hungry, that is when I went to eat, usually around 4:30 when there were not a lot of people at the dining hall for dinner. Deep inside, I knew that I was in trouble and had to do something about it. But next thing I knew, the year has already passed and I was still at where I was before. I would still be where I was if Cam Yung did not mention about our residence counselor Freeman in winter semester. Working together in the same residence for last two years, Cam and I became close friends. He came by my room to talk and our conversation got serious. I did not tell him about everything that I was going through at the time, but Cam suspected that something serious was happening to me and referred me to Freeman. I thought about seeing Freeman, knew that I should talk to Freeman. But I didn¿¿t. I realised that I had to see him when I didn¿¿t write my final exams. I went to PEC in the morning to write the exam, but I just turned around, took a bus back to residence, and turtled in my bed. I emailed my professors late that night saying that I was sick and could not write the final exams.

I don¿¿t know if I wrote this appeal letter as I was supposed to write. It definitely had been an unusual year for me. It has definitely impacted my academics as well as my life, and I don¿¿t want this to repeat again next year.