By: Cassandra Bailey
With the pandemic, my studies at Sheridan have become very hard. Not only did everything shut down with the blink of an eye, but my brother also passed away in May.
I was enrolled in summer classes to boost my grades from previous attempts as I strive to get a high GPA. I was doing ok, but then I got a phone call. I screamed; I was so lost. I couldn’t even believe what had happened. The news was unbearable. I did not believe what happened.
I had to push my reality to the side to get me through the rest of the semester. My focus was on school. This is the most accomplished I have ever been in my life and I did not want to drop out for the fourth time.
Yes, I have previously dropped out of college three times already.
The first time I went to school, I did not enjoy it, so I dropped out. The second time, I failed all my classes, and the third time, I got pregnant and very sick for my whole pregnancy. I always wanted to go back one day, but I continued to get into debt, so I thought that would never happen.
I was ready to go back to school, and I did, and all my grades have been very high. I am so proud of myself, and with the sad news that I received, I could have fallen into a deep depression and cried every day, but I need this. I need school.
School keeps me going. School allows me to keep pushing and do what I strive to accomplish in life. We only have one life, so my advice is for you to do everything you want to do. If you believe it you can honestly achieve it.
I have had a tough, hard life, that’s unimaginable, and this school has helped me so much. I feel like I’m a part of something. When I first came to Sheridan, I did not talk to anyone. For the first semester, I just came to school to go to my classes, and then went home.
At the end of the first semester, I decided to get more involved at Sheridan, as I don’t just want to be a student who goes to classes, and then goes home, when in reality there is so much more to do at the school.
I created a club that’s called LGBTQ+ @ Davis, and even got involved in a few other clubs myself, such as the Sheridan Business Association and Mission Zero.
I also became a Peer Mentor. I currently feel very involved at Sheridan. I am not just a number as I perceive that I play an important part in the #SheridanLife.
In a time of incredible change, we are all experiencing this monumental shift together. With a global pandemic, the transition into online schooling and so much more, members of the Sheridan community have become chameleons to welcoming change into their daily routines.
But not every situation starts and ends so easily. There are hardships, challenges and struggles that we experience to come out successfully on the other side. In this blog series, students, Sheridan Alumni, and members of our Sheridan community will share their stories of resilience and how they were able to overcome these obstacles.
We are proud to call this series #SherYourStory.
If you wish to be a part of it, you can submit your stories either publicly or anonymously here.
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“I was just another international student coming to Canada from Punjab with huge dreams and little experience. It hasn’t been all fun and games coming from my hometown, but you know what they say, “Difficult roads lead to beautiful destinations.” Indeed, it became true.”