Petition Letter
In August I fell asleep at the wheel coming home from studying at my local library. I had an exam in a couple of days and having difficulty sleeping during periods of stress I was exhausted. As a result, I was involved in a car crash that totaled my vehicle and severely damaged two others. I was charged criminally and spent the next few months going back and forth from Kingston to Toronto appearing in court and meeting with my legal counsel. During this time, I was severely stressed and found it difficult to focus on school as the stakes of the legal proceedings were extremely important as you could imagine. I self-medicated to deal with the stress and get myself to sleep. Due to the lack of sleep and stress from the ongoing litigation I was ill for a good portion of the semester making it difficult to attend the small amount of class my schedule allowed with the constant travel and little sleep. I am still plagued with guilt from the accident and dealing with the fallout of the situation. I didnt drop the courses immediately following the accident as I tried to maintain the illusion that everything was okay for my parents and friends back home because I didnt want to worry them more than they already were. I began seeing Whitney a counselor early into the semester and that helped lots with my perception of myself however with the legal process ongoing I found it very difficult to get work done. I am now looking to see a private therapist for more regular meetings to help continue work on myself and return to Queens a more productive student.