Petition Letter
To Whom It May Concern,
As a Queen's student, hopefully returning for second year, I am appealing to waive the 21-day appeal deadline, as I have been faced with some unfortunate circumstances regarding my mental health.
I have struggled with anxiety and depression for several years; however, it has affected me greatly over the last 3 months. With the unsuccessful completion of my first year as well as the commencement of my demanding and time-consuming summer job, I have been unable to resolve this difficult situation.
The job that I currently have requires me to work, on average, 60 hours a week. The job itself has increased my levels of anxiety as I become easily stressed working with strict deadlines throughout long weeks. This is a job that I took so that I would be able to pay for school this upcoming year without worrying about using any student loans. Unfortunately, I became so distracted with the need to earn money for school that I put no focus on school itself in any form- I did not open my Queens e-mail until mid July (far past the appeal deadline). Upon receiving my letter requiring me to withdraw for a year, I began to shutdown whenever I tried to deal with this issue. My body becomes physically ill and I get very dizzy when I begin to consider facing the matter. I know these are symptoms of anxiety because I have had them on and off for the past couple of years involving tough situations (ex. failing an exam).
Due to the fact that I work many hours, I have not been able to return to the therapist that I have consistently seen over my lifetime. However, as these symptoms have gotten worse, I have finally taken some active steps by taking some time off this upcoming month so that I may continue with therapy and try to absolve some of these issues once and for all.
I understand that I am way past the appeal deadline but I am coming from a place of despair when I ask for a second chance to explain what prevented me from successfully completing this year. I have always struggled with these types of issues surrounding my health (including learning to manage living with Type 1 Diabetes) and mental state, especially in an academic setting or when faced with a pressing matter as such. However, Queen's has given me an amazing year where I wasn't consumed by all of this as I met so many incredible people who were always there for me, learned so much about the world around me, as well as being able to grow as an independent human being within such a comfortable and welcoming environment.
I cannot imagine my life without Queen's as it brings me such happiness and allows me to live and learn as somebody who has (physical and mental) health restrictions. I would do anything for this fresh start and I am ready to put everything I have into my education- which I would love nothing more than to complete at Queen's University.
Thank you very much for your time and consideration.
Regards,
Madeleine Carmichael
10109147
As a Queen's student, hopefully returning for second year, I am appealing to waive the 21-day appeal deadline, as I have been faced with some unfortunate circumstances regarding my mental health.
I have struggled with anxiety and depression for several years; however, it has affected me greatly over the last 3 months. With the unsuccessful completion of my first year as well as the commencement of my demanding and time-consuming summer job, I have been unable to resolve this difficult situation.
The job that I currently have requires me to work, on average, 60 hours a week. The job itself has increased my levels of anxiety as I become easily stressed working with strict deadlines throughout long weeks. This is a job that I took so that I would be able to pay for school this upcoming year without worrying about using any student loans. Unfortunately, I became so distracted with the need to earn money for school that I put no focus on school itself in any form- I did not open my Queens e-mail until mid July (far past the appeal deadline). Upon receiving my letter requiring me to withdraw for a year, I began to shutdown whenever I tried to deal with this issue. My body becomes physically ill and I get very dizzy when I begin to consider facing the matter. I know these are symptoms of anxiety because I have had them on and off for the past couple of years involving tough situations (ex. failing an exam).
Due to the fact that I work many hours, I have not been able to return to the therapist that I have consistently seen over my lifetime. However, as these symptoms have gotten worse, I have finally taken some active steps by taking some time off this upcoming month so that I may continue with therapy and try to absolve some of these issues once and for all.
I understand that I am way past the appeal deadline but I am coming from a place of despair when I ask for a second chance to explain what prevented me from successfully completing this year. I have always struggled with these types of issues surrounding my health (including learning to manage living with Type 1 Diabetes) and mental state, especially in an academic setting or when faced with a pressing matter as such. However, Queen's has given me an amazing year where I wasn't consumed by all of this as I met so many incredible people who were always there for me, learned so much about the world around me, as well as being able to grow as an independent human being within such a comfortable and welcoming environment.
I cannot imagine my life without Queen's as it brings me such happiness and allows me to live and learn as somebody who has (physical and mental) health restrictions. I would do anything for this fresh start and I am ready to put everything I have into my education- which I would love nothing more than to complete at Queen's University.
Thank you very much for your time and consideration.
Regards,
Madeleine Carmichael
10109147