Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: I submit this appeal in hopes that my ability to articulate the extenuating circumstances that have lead me to reflect on what has been the most difficult set of obstacles I have faced in my life. I'd think it would be best if i simply outline the separate challenges I faced during my years at Queen's. The underlying cause of the three main catalysts which set off my downturn was my unrelenting personal struggle with anxiety which I have been told has blown up into depression and a host of other health problems. I've been told not to place so much blame on my own ability to shape the outcomes of my academic pursuit, but I found this to be next to impossible. It's only now that my fear and sadness in regards to my condition and and academic standing have boiled to a point where I had to seek help. Under the advice of Queen's academic advisement staff, I have fessed up the courage to put everything i know about what has affected me beyond my control to help salvage what I still describe as the best opportunity that was ever presented to me. This i especially difficult for me, as I feel that i have not yet fully understood my condition as I have felt clouded beneath the converging clouds of fear towering over me. The amount of anxiety I feel while attempting to convey myself here Is a kind of suffering for me as I feel I may lose the most important personal pursuit of my life. Just thinking of the regret I'd feel for the rest of my life for not fulfilling my dreams is very scary. Regardless, I am going to tackle this because I can't let up the only chance I may have of preserving my chance of fulfilling my own life's aspirations. The three main reasons I mentioned I narrowed down are: The underlying physical anxiety that became chronic when I moved from Vancouver to Kingston after secondary school; I was informed of criminal charges being placed on me for participation in the Stanley Cup riot of 2011 in Vancouver when i was only months over the age of 18 (I lived under the fear of being taken back to Vancouver in the middle of my 2nd year at Queen's) This was some of the strongest fuel I can think of for my battle with what we call anxiety; and lastly the cumulative putting off of the need to seek help for my struggles with anxiety, depression and overall mental pain that have revolved around its friction with my academic aspirations and the finite threshold for mishaps that comes with it. The amount of guilt and sadness I've felt but am ow being told was misplaced is enormous, but the thought of there being a chance for this cloud of disaster from my past could be erased is reviving. I finally contacted the academic advisement office and after laying out my life sine 2011 for them, I was assisted in devising a request which would suffice the needs for my cycle of fear, anxiety and sadness to end. The time at which I sought help was after the period in which students are permitted to appeal grades and was news to me as I was in the middle of a hard episode with my mental struggle after fearing the end of my academic pursuit. Though I could muster the confidence to seek help in the allotted time frame, I am trying to make the best of the chance I have left here to make my complex case in order to salvage what i consider to be the most valuable and cherished part of my life. A lot of the pain I am in is due to the fact that my shortcomings that resulted from my psychological condition are still very much with me in the form of my academic record. I see this barrier, made up of my past struggles as one which must be overcome by looking ahead by erasing the scars of the past. I am requesting late drops in POLS 110; FILM 260; GPHY 101; DEVS 220; DEVS 240 and possibly even credit standing in DEVS 100 and DEVS 230.