Petition Letter
My name is Xavier Harris and I have a received a requirement to withdraw for a year. This appeal is to potentially make a change to that circumstance. Over the course of the pandemic, I finished high-school and was looking for the next chapter of my life. Coming from an academic school (Toronto French School), I thought my options were very slim and that going into University was the only one. Once I began my first year, I quickly realized that I needed a break after being mentally burnt out from my high school experience. Throughout the last 4 years of high school following the death of my mother, I struggled with severe depression that I still struggle with to this day. Over the course of this past year at Queen's I realize I have fully dropped the ball and tarnished the Queen's image. By the end of the first term at Christmas I did not know if I wanted to continue at Queen's and I was in an incredibly dark place. I knew I was not doing any of the work necessary to be a student, however I enrolled for the winter term and the same thing happened. The effects of the pandemic have been extremely detrimental to my mental state and my work morale. As we slowly come out of the hard times this summer, I realized that I had completely messed up my academic life and I knew there were consequences. I was looking forwards to studying in the fall to get my life (academic and day to day) back on track. I have rented a lodging in Kingston and have already made the payments for the year. Aside from the financial aspect, I am fully prepared to turn around my academic life so I can make my father proud to call me his son.