Petition Letter
Dear Associate Dean,
I am writing to you today to request that my PSYC 100, SOCY 122, PHIL 157, COGS 100, and GNDS 125 (Fall term 2022 and Winter term 2023) classes are dropped. Going into my first year at Queens University I was in an extremely dark place, my health, both physically and mentally was deteriorating and only got worse as the months went by throughout the school year. I was often told how difficult the first year of university would be, especially for a first-year student, but I never wanted to let that scare me as I was excited and proud of myself that I got into my dream school. Although, as much as I wanted to do well and succeed, my mental health was not in the right place to allow me to achieve that goal. From mid-October on my mental health only worsened, and I found myself in a deep depression that was difficult to come out of. I did not sleep, eat, or get outside, my thoughts were dark, and I, unfortunately, lost my will to live.
About two years ago I went to a psychiatrist who diagnosed me with multiple different conditions (as seen in the attached psychiatry consultation report). These conditions have not gone away and instead have worsened since the psychiatry appointment. I have been struggling with them for the past two years now and they have continued to affect my life negatively every day and impacted my ability to complete/hand in assignments, attend classes, study, and enjoy school.
In both the Fall and Winter terms, attending classes, specifically, tutorials, was difficult for me to achieve. Often when I gained enough courage to go, I would find myself having to leave multiple times or leave early because I would get severe panic attacks for many reasons, but one main reason was that I would have to participate in speaking to the class. Panic attacks are something that I have truly struggled with for many years, and they affected my ability to attend lectures and tutorials throughout the year. I often was so terrified I would get a panic attack, as a solution I would hide away in my dorm room and avoid class.
Another condition that affected my ability to learn throughout the academic year was my eating disorder. I often got sick, especially in the second semester due to not getting enough nutrients for my body to function properly. This caused me to be extremely exhausted mentally and physically, I lost a lot of weight during my time at school, and not eating aggravated intense migraines (which I am prone to) that made my vision blurry/foggy and caused me to throw up. Throughout the school year, especially during midterms and exams, it was common for me to be getting three to four migraines or severe headaches a week and because of this my ability to study, complete my schoolwork, attend classes, and function properly was affected.
Handing in assignments and completing them was a difficult task due to my procrastination problems that stem from the multiple disorders I have. Even though I attempted many, if not all my assignments during both semesters, often I was unable to finish them due to the struggles I faced mentally. It is not that I did not want to do them, or that I was being lazy, but because I mentally and physically struggled to complete the assignments.
Thank you for taking the time to read over this petition and for your consideration,
Avery Carr.
I am writing to you today to request that my PSYC 100, SOCY 122, PHIL 157, COGS 100, and GNDS 125 (Fall term 2022 and Winter term 2023) classes are dropped. Going into my first year at Queens University I was in an extremely dark place, my health, both physically and mentally was deteriorating and only got worse as the months went by throughout the school year. I was often told how difficult the first year of university would be, especially for a first-year student, but I never wanted to let that scare me as I was excited and proud of myself that I got into my dream school. Although, as much as I wanted to do well and succeed, my mental health was not in the right place to allow me to achieve that goal. From mid-October on my mental health only worsened, and I found myself in a deep depression that was difficult to come out of. I did not sleep, eat, or get outside, my thoughts were dark, and I, unfortunately, lost my will to live.
About two years ago I went to a psychiatrist who diagnosed me with multiple different conditions (as seen in the attached psychiatry consultation report). These conditions have not gone away and instead have worsened since the psychiatry appointment. I have been struggling with them for the past two years now and they have continued to affect my life negatively every day and impacted my ability to complete/hand in assignments, attend classes, study, and enjoy school.
In both the Fall and Winter terms, attending classes, specifically, tutorials, was difficult for me to achieve. Often when I gained enough courage to go, I would find myself having to leave multiple times or leave early because I would get severe panic attacks for many reasons, but one main reason was that I would have to participate in speaking to the class. Panic attacks are something that I have truly struggled with for many years, and they affected my ability to attend lectures and tutorials throughout the year. I often was so terrified I would get a panic attack, as a solution I would hide away in my dorm room and avoid class.
Another condition that affected my ability to learn throughout the academic year was my eating disorder. I often got sick, especially in the second semester due to not getting enough nutrients for my body to function properly. This caused me to be extremely exhausted mentally and physically, I lost a lot of weight during my time at school, and not eating aggravated intense migraines (which I am prone to) that made my vision blurry/foggy and caused me to throw up. Throughout the school year, especially during midterms and exams, it was common for me to be getting three to four migraines or severe headaches a week and because of this my ability to study, complete my schoolwork, attend classes, and function properly was affected.
Handing in assignments and completing them was a difficult task due to my procrastination problems that stem from the multiple disorders I have. Even though I attempted many, if not all my assignments during both semesters, often I was unable to finish them due to the struggles I faced mentally. It is not that I did not want to do them, or that I was being lazy, but because I mentally and physically struggled to complete the assignments.
Thank you for taking the time to read over this petition and for your consideration,
Avery Carr.