(Untitled)

[femaelstrom27]

I got some bad, very unexpected news my last day in Oberlin. I was talking to the dean about returning next semester, and about winter term specifically, and he said "So you're probably going to do an off-campus individual project, right

Comments

[jorgath]

Dearling...

My history and situation are not the same as yours. That being said, there's at least one major similarity.

My first year at Oberlin, I scraped by my first semester. I fell into a depression over Winter Break (I suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder among my other complaints). Going back to Oberlin for Winter Term when I was in a depression was the dumbest thing I have ever done in my life, bar none. I basically stopped eating, slept random hours, holed up in my room unless I was reminded of something, and damn near killed myself by self-neglect. Let's not mention my personal hygiene. And I was in a group project, so it's not like I didn't have friends on campus.

Winter Term at Oberlin is NOT a good thing if you're already at risk. No matter how much better you are, it's probably the one situation that can most enable a relapse -- and the one situation where a relapse is least likely to be caught in time.

So, while I understand your annoyance at the dean's decision...he's got a point. It's playing it safe, but neither your friends nor Oberlin wants to risk losing you.

*hugs*

[femaelstrom27]

I definitely see your point. Thanks for the anecdote; it sounds like we deal with a lot of the same shit, and I can totally see how I could fall into bad habits and thought patterns in that situation.

[jorgath]

Yeah. I've been there too. Not the same, but similar enough.

If you really want me to, I can send you my entire fucked-up history. It's not pleasant, though. Also, I don't want to post it all over teh intarwebs, so I'd be e-mailing it to you.