Petition Letter
Dear Dr. Jenn Stephenson,
I am writing to petition my requirement to withdraw from Queen’s University. Before I present reasons for my poor academic results, I would like to say that I am very grateful for the opportunity to explain myself.
In my first year of University, I gained 60 pounds, sitting at 230lb. This highly affected my self-esteem, along with a series of events from April 2022 to February 2023 had caused me to lose my focus on school, and focused on getting my health and weight back in order. I would like to share my experience starting from my first year.
When first year had begun, I felt I had lost a lot of my social skills from the pandemic and felt almost out of place, but assumed the feeling would pass. Oct. 2022, I was with my friends at Location 21 one night, and a clearly intoxicated male student approached our table and called me ‘fat’ loudly enough that everyone in the restaurant turned their head at me, and I was mortified. I had never been called something like that before. I couldn’t believe what had just happened and my overall self-esteem took a hard hit, as well as my grades because Queen’s quickly turned into an environment where I was not comfortable in my own skin. My parents encouraged me to pursue science courses when I just wanted to focus on Arts as I knew science was not meant for me which added to that feeling. Almost all of my Arts courses passed, and my science courses all failed
In May 2022, I was told I had been put on academic probation. Over the summer of 2022, I worked and spent a lot of time by myself which only brought me deeper into the problem without realizing. Within the same summer I was told we were going to visit a relative we hadn’t seen in a long time. At 8 years old, this family member has sexually assaulted me. I did not tell anyone. But that day, I had to. They were heartbroken and shocked, and it caused a riff within our entire family discussing whether to take legal action or not. I felt disgusting for what had happened to me, where I was at with school and for all the weight I had gained, how I had distanced from almost all of my friends and did not want to go out and socialize because of my weight. I was so ashamed of myself. At the end of the summer after first year, I had met a very nice boy. We were exclusive for 6 months, but in the December 2022 exam season I had randomly found out he had been involved with a girl that I knew. For many months I did not go out or see friends, I wanted to isolate myself because of how truly unhappy I was. At the end of second semester, I realized the severity of my situation with school. I picked myself up as much as possible and tried to salvage what I could in the courses I was in, knowing that the summer would be my opportunity to make the changes I needed in my life.
I am writing to petition my requirement to withdraw from Queen’s University. Before I present reasons for my poor academic results, I would like to say that I am very grateful for the opportunity to explain myself.
In my first year of University, I gained 60 pounds, sitting at 230lb. This highly affected my self-esteem, along with a series of events from April 2022 to February 2023 had caused me to lose my focus on school, and focused on getting my health and weight back in order. I would like to share my experience starting from my first year.
When first year had begun, I felt I had lost a lot of my social skills from the pandemic and felt almost out of place, but assumed the feeling would pass. Oct. 2022, I was with my friends at Location 21 one night, and a clearly intoxicated male student approached our table and called me ‘fat’ loudly enough that everyone in the restaurant turned their head at me, and I was mortified. I had never been called something like that before. I couldn’t believe what had just happened and my overall self-esteem took a hard hit, as well as my grades because Queen’s quickly turned into an environment where I was not comfortable in my own skin. My parents encouraged me to pursue science courses when I just wanted to focus on Arts as I knew science was not meant for me which added to that feeling. Almost all of my Arts courses passed, and my science courses all failed
In May 2022, I was told I had been put on academic probation. Over the summer of 2022, I worked and spent a lot of time by myself which only brought me deeper into the problem without realizing. Within the same summer I was told we were going to visit a relative we hadn’t seen in a long time. At 8 years old, this family member has sexually assaulted me. I did not tell anyone. But that day, I had to. They were heartbroken and shocked, and it caused a riff within our entire family discussing whether to take legal action or not. I felt disgusting for what had happened to me, where I was at with school and for all the weight I had gained, how I had distanced from almost all of my friends and did not want to go out and socialize because of my weight. I was so ashamed of myself. At the end of the summer after first year, I had met a very nice boy. We were exclusive for 6 months, but in the December 2022 exam season I had randomly found out he had been involved with a girl that I knew. For many months I did not go out or see friends, I wanted to isolate myself because of how truly unhappy I was. At the end of second semester, I realized the severity of my situation with school. I picked myself up as much as possible and tried to salvage what I could in the courses I was in, knowing that the summer would be my opportunity to make the changes I needed in my life.