Petition Letter
My name is Graydon Morrow (20078817) I am appealing the faculty of Art's and Science decision that I am required to withdraw from study's for 1 year. This past year has been without a doubt the most challenging year of my entire life facing hardships I wouldn't wish on anyone. In late October of 2018 my childhood friend passed away. The sudden passing was unexpected and caught me entirely off guard having a profound impact on my mental and physical well being. Task's that used to be simple such as getting out of bed to get to class and keeping my room and schedule in an organised fashion become something of a daunting task. I nearly stopped eating and lost close to 20 pounds and would rarely prepare for assignments and upcoming tests and exams. It was without a doubt the darkest a most miserable time of my life. As the year progressed and my academic standings worsened my fellow peers and family noticed that I was not doing well. They offered their help and counselling if I ever needed to talk but I foolishly refused. It wasn't until I started getting unbearable headaches that I reached out for help from my fellow peers. Slowly through second semester I became to feel better coming to terms with what had happened in the previous months but I still felt as if I was shell of my former self. Looking back the biggest mistake I made was not accessing the multitude of resources that are available on campus and within the Queens community sooner, because ultimately that was what started my road back to recovery. I ask that you take in to consideration this was the first time I had ever lost someone close to me and it happened to my best friend. After failing my finals and coming home my parents immediately realised that I was in a troubled state so they helped me find someone to speak too and help express my feelings of grief that I had kept bottled up for so long. Eventually after multiple sessions and hours of discussion, I came to the conclusion that my friend would not have wanted me to lose so much over his passing. I began to gain peace of mind knowing he was in a better place and started to feel a sense of ease that had been missing for months. My confidence and ambition was practically non-existent while at school but when I came home it started to return and helped me to get a full time job for the summer working in pharmaceuticals at Teva. I reflect on who I was before Alex passed away and see a much different and less mature person that did not have any grasp on how mental health can affect people and what suffering truly is. Though this experience was the worst situation imaginable it has helped shape who I am as a person and I believe I have come out of it more motivated than ever to succeed.