Petition Letter
Dear Queen¿¿s Associate Dean (Studies),
I am appealing to drop CISC 101 past the deadline for this winter semester. At the beginning of the term I was optimistic to return to Queen¿¿s after the holiday break, and although the intro to computing course was supposed to be an elective for me, I chose to take it instead of a ¿¿birdie¿ or class that would not be challenging. I was looking forward to learning and putting in work to excel in school as well as getting my feet wet in coding which I have never done before or experienced. Throughout the start and middle of the timeline I was consistently attending classes and keeping up with the work load, despite its difficulty and challenges that I constantly found. I desired to persevere through because I adamantly did not want to feel like I was giving up or become a quitter, and I thought that I had put in enough hours where I did not want them to go to waste as well as the finances going in to the course taken. I was ready to embrace myself for a tough upcoming schedule and exam season, but I was prepared to endure and truly believed in myself.
After that several occurrences transpired that snowballed into a situation where I undoubtedly was not able to perform at a high level or able to achieve success in my academics. At first, the person I was in a relationship with for two years ended things which took a toll on my mental well-being. Less than a month later I was informed of news back home relating to the health of a family member that strenuously affected my ability to stay focused and compose my emotions. Even though these events were dire to me, I was telling myself that people experience things like these every day and that I was not special, and that life has its ups and downs and so I truly attempted to keep my head up and continued to study hard and do my best to stay optimistic. I still set my alarm every morning and spent several hours at Stauffer daily to stay diligent, but it became increasingly difficult and I seemed to be burning out regularly.
I believe that, because of these events, they were the reason that I started to go through anxiety and panic attacks for the first time in my life. I have experienced depressive or melancholic symptoms in years past, but never thought I could relate when my friends would tell me of their anxiety related problems or when I would read up on the health matters. I do not know the root cause for it or why I would have them, but there were numerous occasions where the best description would be as if I felt trapped, unbearably and uncomfortably unable to proceed forward with my day. My upper body felt as if it was being compressed, my breathing felt uncontrollable and my thoughts could not even begin to think rationally or about any positive outcomes. Even after one of the mental attacks I would feel heavily affected or as if I needed time to recover for multiple hours, and sometimes even a couple of days. Perhaps it was a rippling effect from those attacks but it seemed like my mind was consistently centered around negative thoughts, paranoia and that I was in eminent trouble, and my peace had been tragically robbed for that time period. Due to these predicaments my capacity to stay organized was sincerely hindered and before I knew it I had missed the last deadline to drop the course on March 1st. From there I made a decision to make an appeal when the time came and at the time prioritize on getting better as well as focusing on the rest of my courses. I significantly apologize for waiting until now to submit my appeal, as I prioritized other matters such as exams and job applications but I always planned to do so much before exam season even begun.
I am learning more about the issues by inquiring friends who deal with similar things and plan to see a professional once my family physician returns from vacation (to make further progress and continue to build resilience), which I have not been able to do since I stayed in Kingston until May 2nd to move all my furniture from my old house to my new location. Once I do so I will proceed to keep you further updated with a document from a professional as well as my progress for recovery. I admittedly tried to take a medication that a friend of mine is prescribed for such health matters but found its effects either ineffective or incredibly dislikable. I will not let my current stance affect my future or dictate my life, and as of late I have been able to develop positive habits of meditating and praying every morning which has steadily but undoubtedly improved my emotional health. However, the occurrences this past semester has assuredly been an almost overwhelming dark cloud that loomed over these past few months which can be described as nightmarish, although in a weird way I am grateful for the adversity because of my growth from it. Nonetheless, my semester and grades have drastically taken a toll, and the turmoil and buildup from the sum of incidences has truly been extenuating circumstances that have damaged my academic performances. I am wholeheartedly hoping that the person who reads this appeal can be empathetic about my situation and understanding that I did so many things in my power to limit my obstacles and overcome to the best of my ability, and that I will continue to strive to defeat my roadblocks and achieve my goals (which I know and have faith that I will, perseverance is nothing new to me). Thank you for even taking the time to read through this letter, I genuinely hope that none of the member(s) who are a part of this appeal process have to experience what I did and I hope to hear from you while I prepare for the rest of my exams in the meanwhile.
All the best & warm regards,
Brian Han 10151087
I am appealing to drop CISC 101 past the deadline for this winter semester. At the beginning of the term I was optimistic to return to Queen¿¿s after the holiday break, and although the intro to computing course was supposed to be an elective for me, I chose to take it instead of a ¿¿birdie¿ or class that would not be challenging. I was looking forward to learning and putting in work to excel in school as well as getting my feet wet in coding which I have never done before or experienced. Throughout the start and middle of the timeline I was consistently attending classes and keeping up with the work load, despite its difficulty and challenges that I constantly found. I desired to persevere through because I adamantly did not want to feel like I was giving up or become a quitter, and I thought that I had put in enough hours where I did not want them to go to waste as well as the finances going in to the course taken. I was ready to embrace myself for a tough upcoming schedule and exam season, but I was prepared to endure and truly believed in myself.
After that several occurrences transpired that snowballed into a situation where I undoubtedly was not able to perform at a high level or able to achieve success in my academics. At first, the person I was in a relationship with for two years ended things which took a toll on my mental well-being. Less than a month later I was informed of news back home relating to the health of a family member that strenuously affected my ability to stay focused and compose my emotions. Even though these events were dire to me, I was telling myself that people experience things like these every day and that I was not special, and that life has its ups and downs and so I truly attempted to keep my head up and continued to study hard and do my best to stay optimistic. I still set my alarm every morning and spent several hours at Stauffer daily to stay diligent, but it became increasingly difficult and I seemed to be burning out regularly.
I believe that, because of these events, they were the reason that I started to go through anxiety and panic attacks for the first time in my life. I have experienced depressive or melancholic symptoms in years past, but never thought I could relate when my friends would tell me of their anxiety related problems or when I would read up on the health matters. I do not know the root cause for it or why I would have them, but there were numerous occasions where the best description would be as if I felt trapped, unbearably and uncomfortably unable to proceed forward with my day. My upper body felt as if it was being compressed, my breathing felt uncontrollable and my thoughts could not even begin to think rationally or about any positive outcomes. Even after one of the mental attacks I would feel heavily affected or as if I needed time to recover for multiple hours, and sometimes even a couple of days. Perhaps it was a rippling effect from those attacks but it seemed like my mind was consistently centered around negative thoughts, paranoia and that I was in eminent trouble, and my peace had been tragically robbed for that time period. Due to these predicaments my capacity to stay organized was sincerely hindered and before I knew it I had missed the last deadline to drop the course on March 1st. From there I made a decision to make an appeal when the time came and at the time prioritize on getting better as well as focusing on the rest of my courses. I significantly apologize for waiting until now to submit my appeal, as I prioritized other matters such as exams and job applications but I always planned to do so much before exam season even begun.
I am learning more about the issues by inquiring friends who deal with similar things and plan to see a professional once my family physician returns from vacation (to make further progress and continue to build resilience), which I have not been able to do since I stayed in Kingston until May 2nd to move all my furniture from my old house to my new location. Once I do so I will proceed to keep you further updated with a document from a professional as well as my progress for recovery. I admittedly tried to take a medication that a friend of mine is prescribed for such health matters but found its effects either ineffective or incredibly dislikable. I will not let my current stance affect my future or dictate my life, and as of late I have been able to develop positive habits of meditating and praying every morning which has steadily but undoubtedly improved my emotional health. However, the occurrences this past semester has assuredly been an almost overwhelming dark cloud that loomed over these past few months which can be described as nightmarish, although in a weird way I am grateful for the adversity because of my growth from it. Nonetheless, my semester and grades have drastically taken a toll, and the turmoil and buildup from the sum of incidences has truly been extenuating circumstances that have damaged my academic performances. I am wholeheartedly hoping that the person who reads this appeal can be empathetic about my situation and understanding that I did so many things in my power to limit my obstacles and overcome to the best of my ability, and that I will continue to strive to defeat my roadblocks and achieve my goals (which I know and have faith that I will, perseverance is nothing new to me). Thank you for even taking the time to read through this letter, I genuinely hope that none of the member(s) who are a part of this appeal process have to experience what I did and I hope to hear from you while I prepare for the rest of my exams in the meanwhile.
All the best & warm regards,
Brian Han 10151087