I am appealing the academic decision of my suspension in the hope that I can provide reasons and justifications for my poor academic performance. First and foremost, I have reached a point in my academic career where the majority of classes I take are major classes therefore; they are a bit more challenging then the core curriculum. In fall 2017, I took classes like finance and management which gave me a hard time, mainly because of the workload and expectations but also because I found myself in a dark place last semester. At the beginning of last semester, after leaving home and spending a couple of weeks away, I began sensing that I was spiralling down in a constant depressive mood, that I managed to hide but that was eating me up inside. Moreover, I also reached a point where my focus was very weak and I could not take full, consistent notes and follow the lecture at the same time: it felt like my brain needed a break. At the same time, I also lost any enthusiasm or enjoyment I had for my hobbies and I started staying in my room more often, not going out, and losing touch with my friends. I try to never let myself go academically but this time was different: it felt like I had no control, and I admit that that is my fault for not pushing myself harder. . Upon coming back home and discussing the issue with my parents, I learned that what had happened to me was an episode of depression – something I had never experienced before. When my parents asked me why I had never seen anyone for this, I responded that I did not exactly know the nature of my predicament and what was the matter with me, and even if I had, I would have been too shy to seek any professional help. Thus, I take full responsibility for my poor actions and decision-making process and believe I can and will succeed next semester, if granted the appeal.
Last semester, I found myself dealing and struggling with something that interfered with my mental health and prevented me from straightening out my priorities which eventually led me to regress academically. After reading up more on depression and familiarizing myself with it, I have put together a plan that could help me pick my grades up next semester. First, at the very beginning of the semester, I am planning on visiting each of my professors during their office hours, introducing myself, explaining my situation so I can learn how to better succeed in my classes. Then, I have resolved to indulge in a review session at the end of every week in order to wrap up and recap notes that I marked down in class. That would eventually stay up to date with course material and would more efficient for reviewing for important exams. Also, I feel like my room is not an ideal place for me to study because there are so many distractions around me, therefore, all of my review sessions will be done in the library. Finally, for lengthy and complex assignments I will be more strategic and efficient and divide the workload in small stages, to make more manageable for me and not have to study under the pressure of a deadline. For instance, papers will be written in three or more steps: gathering of sources, outline composition and writing.
I have detailed above, upon reflection and in retrospect, the main reasons as I have understood them for my mediocre performance last semester. I am aware that depression is not incurable but it put me in a very difficult situation which altered the way I see life and in return altered the way I see my studies. Nonetheless, right now, my studies remain the most important component of my life and the impact that my mental health has had on them is disappointing and saddening to me. I have resolved to not let anything get in the way of my studies anymore. I really hope that the committee accepts my appeal, and gives me another chance in order to prove myself to the university and prove that I have great potential and am capable of succeeding despite what happened.