Overwhelming failure can seem impossible to overcome. This is something I learned at the end of my first semester freshman year. I had skipped most, if not all, of my classes going into week 6 of the semester and was failing all my classes. I tried to recover and attend my courses, but it was already too late. After appealing my academic and financial aid suspensions, my waiver was approved, and I was allowed to continue second semester. Second semester was an anxious experience for me as my grandfather was in hospice and my 3-year relationship was slowly falling apart. I once again stopped attending classes around week 2. Despite being on a suspension waiver I still didn’t care enough to go to my classes, until I was told by the Dean of Students that withdrawing from the semester was what was recommended. Not only would my friends and family have been disappointed, but any chance of improving or saving my relationship with my then girlfriend would be out of the question. So, taking all of this into account I told the Dean no, I would not withdraw.
Upon telling the Dean I would not take her advice and withdraw from the semester, I decided to enlist the support of my professors and I reached out to apologize and ask for literally anything I could possibly do to raise my failing grades. Against all odds I ended up with Bs at the end of the semester. Despite my anxiety and depression being at all-time highs, my grandfather passing away, and my longtime girlfriend dumping me in April, I still managed to pull through and pass 3 of my 4 classes. Because I only passed 3 of my classes I had to once again appeal to the financial and academic boards to get a waiver for each respective suspension, I would receive a second time. Luckily, both were approved, and I would be allowed to attend UWGB for my sophomore year in the fall. The moral of this story is that no matter how much opposition you may face, there is always a way to persevere and make the best of any situation.