Petition Letter
Hello, my name is Joseph Jo and this letter to appeal my requirement to withdraw for three years due to extenuating circumstances.
Ever since my acceptance to university, due to my financials I needed to start off by having to find a place off campus before even starting university. This was a problem as I had no real way to get to Kingston from my home city till the start of the semester and didn't have the finances to do so either. I have received OSAP to help pay for my tuition, but without any other external financial help my life skewed towards survival, to manage my finances as much as possible to be able to survive the year rather than focus on my studies. As I ended up focusing on my financial situation I slowly started to fall behind in my studies and started to dread going to classes as I was always behind in every subject that was discussed. This also didn't help as I did not have any friends or family to rely on for support or a fall back plan.
Do to how I started off university, I ended up losing structure and started to develop depression and anxiety of going to classes. The depression and anxiety got so bad that at times I would stay at home for days at a time and was not able to any school work or even any activities/hobbies that I enjoyed. Unfortunately, at the time I did not think of this as depression or anxiety, but only as problems risen by my financial situation.
So, as I received my requirement to withdraw for one year I went to get a job and hopefully make myself more stable. During this time it became abundantly clear that having an income and being able to support myself did not fix my overall problem. After over a year of withdrawal I steeled myself with the mentality that I want to complete my university and study what I was passionate about.
As I returned to my studies it was soon prevalent that not much has changed even though my financial situation was improved and I did not have to try to survive with what little I had. I had support from my family as they became in a better financial position and I also gained a flexible part time job that worked well with my studies. Even though I was in a better situation it did not help that I was not able to resolve my mental issues and the psychological challenges that I accumulated with my past experience while attending university. Eventually I ended up going back into the slump that I was in while attending university previously. This made me come to a conclusion that the problem I was having wasn't just external factors anymore.
As I struggled to catch up with my studies I ended up reaching out to an Occupational Therapist by recommendation of accommodations. Through talking to my Therapist I was enlightened to the fact that I may be experiencing depression and anxiety due to my upbringing, financial and family circumstances that I was previously and currently in. So I booked an appointment with a physician to talk about my mental health. When I met her she said that the problem I might be having is ADHD related and referred me to the RARC. I went and took an assessment with a Psychometrist which resulted in stating that I have depression and anxiety.
I did constantly go meet my Therapist for help regarding my psychological challenges and they did help a lot. Unfortunately, I was too far behind in all my classes and was at a point where it would be near impossible for me to salvage my grades as I have missed too many assignments and tests.
With this the school year came to an end and I was given a requirement to withdraw for three years. I believe that with the help of my Therapist and the resources I was provided by my Psychometrist I have improved tremendously mentally to overcome my depression and anxiety. I plan on continuing to meet with my therapist to keep it in check and go through a healthy university experience. I just wish to have one more chance at studying for what I am passionate about, with the help of all the resources that I know that I have now.
Thank you very much for reading this letter and for your consideration.
Regards,
Joseph Jo
Ever since my acceptance to university, due to my financials I needed to start off by having to find a place off campus before even starting university. This was a problem as I had no real way to get to Kingston from my home city till the start of the semester and didn't have the finances to do so either. I have received OSAP to help pay for my tuition, but without any other external financial help my life skewed towards survival, to manage my finances as much as possible to be able to survive the year rather than focus on my studies. As I ended up focusing on my financial situation I slowly started to fall behind in my studies and started to dread going to classes as I was always behind in every subject that was discussed. This also didn't help as I did not have any friends or family to rely on for support or a fall back plan.
Do to how I started off university, I ended up losing structure and started to develop depression and anxiety of going to classes. The depression and anxiety got so bad that at times I would stay at home for days at a time and was not able to any school work or even any activities/hobbies that I enjoyed. Unfortunately, at the time I did not think of this as depression or anxiety, but only as problems risen by my financial situation.
So, as I received my requirement to withdraw for one year I went to get a job and hopefully make myself more stable. During this time it became abundantly clear that having an income and being able to support myself did not fix my overall problem. After over a year of withdrawal I steeled myself with the mentality that I want to complete my university and study what I was passionate about.
As I returned to my studies it was soon prevalent that not much has changed even though my financial situation was improved and I did not have to try to survive with what little I had. I had support from my family as they became in a better financial position and I also gained a flexible part time job that worked well with my studies. Even though I was in a better situation it did not help that I was not able to resolve my mental issues and the psychological challenges that I accumulated with my past experience while attending university. Eventually I ended up going back into the slump that I was in while attending university previously. This made me come to a conclusion that the problem I was having wasn't just external factors anymore.
As I struggled to catch up with my studies I ended up reaching out to an Occupational Therapist by recommendation of accommodations. Through talking to my Therapist I was enlightened to the fact that I may be experiencing depression and anxiety due to my upbringing, financial and family circumstances that I was previously and currently in. So I booked an appointment with a physician to talk about my mental health. When I met her she said that the problem I might be having is ADHD related and referred me to the RARC. I went and took an assessment with a Psychometrist which resulted in stating that I have depression and anxiety.
I did constantly go meet my Therapist for help regarding my psychological challenges and they did help a lot. Unfortunately, I was too far behind in all my classes and was at a point where it would be near impossible for me to salvage my grades as I have missed too many assignments and tests.
With this the school year came to an end and I was given a requirement to withdraw for three years. I believe that with the help of my Therapist and the resources I was provided by my Psychometrist I have improved tremendously mentally to overcome my depression and anxiety. I plan on continuing to meet with my therapist to keep it in check and go through a healthy university experience. I just wish to have one more chance at studying for what I am passionate about, with the help of all the resources that I know that I have now.
Thank you very much for reading this letter and for your consideration.
Regards,
Joseph Jo