Petition Letter
Dear Dr. Stephenson,
My name is Aidan Abbott (10193044). I am a fourth year Political Studies Major and History Minor student. Throughout my time at Queen¿¿s, I have dealt with family crisis after family crisis all concerning the mental health of my little brother. These events have had a negative impact on my studies, but I have luckily been able to achieves grades high enough to keep my dream of going to law school afloat. This changed in April 2019 when my brother was diagnosed as an addict and began to live on the street. As a result, my exchange grades were nearly 30 below my Fall 2018 Semester grades. Events stabilized this past summer after he entered a rehabilitation program and continued to be stable through September. This October, he relapsed and has been homeless and addicted to various substances ever since. During this time, I also found out that my little sister and little other brother have both been diagnosed with serious mental health issues because of the various crises we have endured. It has been extremely hard hearing about their problems, and I have developed a few mental health issues of my own. I failed to recognize that I needed help and it is only since I recently opened up to my mom that I realized how bad it has become. I eat, exercise, and sleep less, I feel either feel numb or emotionally volatile, and I am constantly stressed about the safety of my family. Focusing has always been a struggle for me because I have ADHD, but when combined with the recent family crisis and mental health issues, it has been next to impossible. When I do manage to get work done, it has been subpar because it has seemed insignificant next to the bigger issues in my life. My studies have fallen to the wayside and only now am I seeing the hole that I put myself in. I need to, and believe that I can, salvage my other four courses (POLS 4442, POLS 466, HIST 263, HIST 245), but attempting to salvage all five considering what I have missed in ENIN 200 would be too difficult.
I can provide documentation detailing what has been going on with my little brother. I am entering therapy once I can secure a psychologist to speak to. I have spoken to a therapist back home about these crises before, but because I have been largely in denial until this past week, I do not have any documentation of my own current mental health issues. Failing to recognize my need for help has pattern of mine at Queen¿¿s. It occurred second term first year, first term second year, second term third year, and now first term fourth year. I have made many mistakes in the past; acting too proud and too tough when I should have been honest about the way I felt. I am extending my degree because I have to try and fix my GPA to recover from these past mistakes. I am hoping that you allow me to drop ENIN 200 to make this a bit easier. Thank you for your time in advance.
Sincerely,
Aidan
My name is Aidan Abbott (10193044). I am a fourth year Political Studies Major and History Minor student. Throughout my time at Queen¿¿s, I have dealt with family crisis after family crisis all concerning the mental health of my little brother. These events have had a negative impact on my studies, but I have luckily been able to achieves grades high enough to keep my dream of going to law school afloat. This changed in April 2019 when my brother was diagnosed as an addict and began to live on the street. As a result, my exchange grades were nearly 30 below my Fall 2018 Semester grades. Events stabilized this past summer after he entered a rehabilitation program and continued to be stable through September. This October, he relapsed and has been homeless and addicted to various substances ever since. During this time, I also found out that my little sister and little other brother have both been diagnosed with serious mental health issues because of the various crises we have endured. It has been extremely hard hearing about their problems, and I have developed a few mental health issues of my own. I failed to recognize that I needed help and it is only since I recently opened up to my mom that I realized how bad it has become. I eat, exercise, and sleep less, I feel either feel numb or emotionally volatile, and I am constantly stressed about the safety of my family. Focusing has always been a struggle for me because I have ADHD, but when combined with the recent family crisis and mental health issues, it has been next to impossible. When I do manage to get work done, it has been subpar because it has seemed insignificant next to the bigger issues in my life. My studies have fallen to the wayside and only now am I seeing the hole that I put myself in. I need to, and believe that I can, salvage my other four courses (POLS 4442, POLS 466, HIST 263, HIST 245), but attempting to salvage all five considering what I have missed in ENIN 200 would be too difficult.
I can provide documentation detailing what has been going on with my little brother. I am entering therapy once I can secure a psychologist to speak to. I have spoken to a therapist back home about these crises before, but because I have been largely in denial until this past week, I do not have any documentation of my own current mental health issues. Failing to recognize my need for help has pattern of mine at Queen¿¿s. It occurred second term first year, first term second year, second term third year, and now first term fourth year. I have made many mistakes in the past; acting too proud and too tough when I should have been honest about the way I felt. I am extending my degree because I have to try and fix my GPA to recover from these past mistakes. I am hoping that you allow me to drop ENIN 200 to make this a bit easier. Thank you for your time in advance.
Sincerely,
Aidan