Manage Appeals
Petition Type: New
ID: 10940
Submitted: September 16, 2023 at 5:37:59 AM
First Name: Jonathan
Last Name: Siu
Pronoun: Mr
Student Number: 10190455
Email: jonathansiusu1997@gmail.com
Degree Program: Bachelors of Arts and Science
Plan: Undergraduate
Level of Study: 1
Petition Categories
Petition Categories: Waive the requirement to withdraw for a minimum of three years
Petition Letter
Petition Letter: I want to appeal to waive the three years requirement to withdraw from school. The reason I am appealing so late is because these past 2 years I was not in the right space to go back to school. I knew that if I went back, I would just place myself in bad circumstances with no plan at all.
To explain myself, I have to go back to 3 years ago when covid started. I was already in a bad place before covid; suffering constantly from suicidal thoughts and dealing with anxiety. I had a bad gpa and I was trying to pick myself back up.
I was regularly visiting a personal counsellor for my mental health problems, and taking depression medication (which did not help). I had a good emotional support system (my roommates) that year and was starting to slowly ease back into school. Although I still dealt with bouts of depression every now and then, but I was getting better. Then covid happened.
I lost all the school resources, counselling, medicine, and emotional support. I was forced to move back home by my roommates because I had covid. I had to isolate myself from family, friends, thereby cutting off all emotional support system. I even celebrated my birthday alone. The biggest impact was the lost of my mental counsellor who had helped slowly take small steps to get back to who I was. I no longer had anyone who I could talk about my everyday problems judgement free. I didn't know who to turn to. At this time, my parents didn't know I had depression and I was very afraid of opening up to them.
Classes then switched online, making it hard to keep up and everything was suddenly changing so fast. I couldn't even stay after class to talk to my professors, everyone felt so far away and this was very alienating.
My mental health which was already bad to begin with, became worse. All the suicidal thoughts and anxiety came back stronger. The only reason I did not forward with it was because I would imagine my parents. I knew I was letting everyone down, but I just didn't have the mental energy to care. nothing mattered anymore and I just felt like giving up on everything.
To explain myself, I have to go back to 3 years ago when covid started. I was already in a bad place before covid; suffering constantly from suicidal thoughts and dealing with anxiety. I had a bad gpa and I was trying to pick myself back up.
I was regularly visiting a personal counsellor for my mental health problems, and taking depression medication (which did not help). I had a good emotional support system (my roommates) that year and was starting to slowly ease back into school. Although I still dealt with bouts of depression every now and then, but I was getting better. Then covid happened.
I lost all the school resources, counselling, medicine, and emotional support. I was forced to move back home by my roommates because I had covid. I had to isolate myself from family, friends, thereby cutting off all emotional support system. I even celebrated my birthday alone. The biggest impact was the lost of my mental counsellor who had helped slowly take small steps to get back to who I was. I no longer had anyone who I could talk about my everyday problems judgement free. I didn't know who to turn to. At this time, my parents didn't know I had depression and I was very afraid of opening up to them.
Classes then switched online, making it hard to keep up and everything was suddenly changing so fast. I couldn't even stay after class to talk to my professors, everyone felt so far away and this was very alienating.
My mental health which was already bad to begin with, became worse. All the suicidal thoughts and anxiety came back stronger. The only reason I did not forward with it was because I would imagine my parents. I knew I was letting everyone down, but I just didn't have the mental energy to care. nothing mattered anymore and I just felt like giving up on everything.
Academic Plan
Academic Plan: I plan to have regular visits with a mental health counsellor and medical professional.
I will have a meeting with an academic advisor and planner to construct a plan that will ease me back to school, which will include having a lighter load.
I will have regular calls with my parents to talk to them about how my day went, any problems I am having, and ask them for help. They will be my emotional support system.
Before covid I was in the Running Room running club, so I plan to go back. Running really helps clear and my thoughts and keeps my body in shape. I will also regularly go to the gym. This will help upkeep my physical health and allow me to have better mental clarity.
I will also take better care of my nutrition as I know now how important it is for my emotional health. Healthy food will help with mental fog and have better health.
I will also have a regular sleep schedule, since sleep helps with my mental health and helps me perform better the next day.
I will do all of the above daily, which will help develop healthy habits to keep my mind and body in good shape.
last but not least I will not be so hard on myself and focus on the process and taking small steps one at a time rather than focusing on the end result. I will focus on only what I can control, which are my actions, and attitude towards life, so that I can put my utmost effort forward.
I will have a meeting with an academic advisor and planner to construct a plan that will ease me back to school, which will include having a lighter load.
I will have regular calls with my parents to talk to them about how my day went, any problems I am having, and ask them for help. They will be my emotional support system.
Before covid I was in the Running Room running club, so I plan to go back. Running really helps clear and my thoughts and keeps my body in shape. I will also regularly go to the gym. This will help upkeep my physical health and allow me to have better mental clarity.
I will also take better care of my nutrition as I know now how important it is for my emotional health. Healthy food will help with mental fog and have better health.
I will also have a regular sleep schedule, since sleep helps with my mental health and helps me perform better the next day.
I will do all of the above daily, which will help develop healthy habits to keep my mind and body in good shape.
last but not least I will not be so hard on myself and focus on the process and taking small steps one at a time rather than focusing on the end result. I will focus on only what I can control, which are my actions, and attitude towards life, so that I can put my utmost effort forward.
Documentation
Professional Letter Detail: NO DOC
Documentation Detail: everything can be verified with student counselling