Petition Letter
Dear Associate Dean,
I am appealing for permission to drop PHIL 330 for the Fall 2019 term past the deadline due to extenuating circumstances relating to my family and the impact it has had on my mental and emotional health.
I have long struggled with my mental health; I am currently being treated and am a recipient of academic accommodations at Queen's due to my major depressive disorder, which I have had since 2012, and had submitted an appeal to drop a course late in my semester the previous term (Winter 2019). However, it is not, primarily, my health which disrupts my academic life and performance. I have been attempting to balance certain circumstances with my own health and with my own life. I live at home with my mother, who has bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. During the duration of the present academic term (Fall 2019), she has been suffering from a flare-up of her symptoms and condition and this has impacted my focus, motivation, and ability when it comes to academic obligations. Unfortunately, I have needed to miss several lectures consecutively due to a fear of leaving her at home alone or to drive her to her doctor's appointments. Along with missing classes, I have consistently had a difficult time keeping up with assignments, submitting them very late and obtaining a late penalty, or having to request extensions for my nearly all of my deadlines. In short, my academic life has been impaired.
Indeed, university life is something I enjoy wholeheartedly, and my degree of Philosophy is one that I am pursuing out of love for the subject, and having to drop a course is something I am appealing for given the mental and emotional strain that has truly impaired my academic performance. Though I struggle with mental fatigue and feelings of being overwhelmed, I have hope and the desire to succeed in my academic life as I did in my first and second years of university (Dean's List, and a GPA of around 3.7). Dropping one course will give me relief as well as the freedom to focus my attention on recovering from my caregiver exhaustion, so that I may be fresh-faced for the upcoming winter semester (for which I am enrolled in four classes).
As for my own plans for betterment, I am currently pursuing ongoing therapy for my emotional and mental wellness and am regularly seeing my family doctor who is monitoring my symptoms (from whom I have also obtained a note supporting my appeal for dropping PHIL 330). In addition, I have planned (and started to implement) lifestyle changes to make coping easier - daily walking, meditation, prayer, and cooking - things that give me peace of mind and refresh me to meet life's demands productively. These are things that I have been able to start, and intend to carry on, due to my reduced courseload. In addition, my mother's health has been stabilizing due to ongoing psychiatric care, and family members who have come to give her support and have eased the responsibility from falling solely upon my shoulders. I am optimistic that with reducing my courses to two this term and spending time focusing on my mental betterment and wellbeing, I will be able to ground myself mentally and emotionally so that I can once again focus on my studies with the passion and clarity that I used to for the rest of my time at Queen's University.
In sincerity,
Sana Towheed
I am appealing for permission to drop PHIL 330 for the Fall 2019 term past the deadline due to extenuating circumstances relating to my family and the impact it has had on my mental and emotional health.
I have long struggled with my mental health; I am currently being treated and am a recipient of academic accommodations at Queen's due to my major depressive disorder, which I have had since 2012, and had submitted an appeal to drop a course late in my semester the previous term (Winter 2019). However, it is not, primarily, my health which disrupts my academic life and performance. I have been attempting to balance certain circumstances with my own health and with my own life. I live at home with my mother, who has bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. During the duration of the present academic term (Fall 2019), she has been suffering from a flare-up of her symptoms and condition and this has impacted my focus, motivation, and ability when it comes to academic obligations. Unfortunately, I have needed to miss several lectures consecutively due to a fear of leaving her at home alone or to drive her to her doctor's appointments. Along with missing classes, I have consistently had a difficult time keeping up with assignments, submitting them very late and obtaining a late penalty, or having to request extensions for my nearly all of my deadlines. In short, my academic life has been impaired.
Indeed, university life is something I enjoy wholeheartedly, and my degree of Philosophy is one that I am pursuing out of love for the subject, and having to drop a course is something I am appealing for given the mental and emotional strain that has truly impaired my academic performance. Though I struggle with mental fatigue and feelings of being overwhelmed, I have hope and the desire to succeed in my academic life as I did in my first and second years of university (Dean's List, and a GPA of around 3.7). Dropping one course will give me relief as well as the freedom to focus my attention on recovering from my caregiver exhaustion, so that I may be fresh-faced for the upcoming winter semester (for which I am enrolled in four classes).
As for my own plans for betterment, I am currently pursuing ongoing therapy for my emotional and mental wellness and am regularly seeing my family doctor who is monitoring my symptoms (from whom I have also obtained a note supporting my appeal for dropping PHIL 330). In addition, I have planned (and started to implement) lifestyle changes to make coping easier - daily walking, meditation, prayer, and cooking - things that give me peace of mind and refresh me to meet life's demands productively. These are things that I have been able to start, and intend to carry on, due to my reduced courseload. In addition, my mother's health has been stabilizing due to ongoing psychiatric care, and family members who have come to give her support and have eased the responsibility from falling solely upon my shoulders. I am optimistic that with reducing my courses to two this term and spending time focusing on my mental betterment and wellbeing, I will be able to ground myself mentally and emotionally so that I can once again focus on my studies with the passion and clarity that I used to for the rest of my time at Queen's University.
In sincerity,
Sana Towheed