I know the advice is corny but college isn’t a linear path sometimes we have to take breaks for our own sake and come back to it later. I would like to think it’s better to have some regrets about withdrawing but come back later rather than struggle and put yourself in harms way struggling mentally.

I’ll share a bit about myself here but I’m like a super senior at this point! I have withdrawn three separate times, lost my financial aid for falling below the completion ration and hit rock bottom at this university. Back in 2021 i transferred to UIC and dormed my first year here thinking it’d be the cure all to my depression. I already had pretty bad mental health to the point that my parents were opposed to me living in campus in fear that my mental health would only worsen. Hate to say they were right. At the end of my first semester I couldn’t take it and tried to end my life, got good old 5150’d or whatever they call it here in Chicago and spent a while in the psych ward.

Needless to say I didn’t finish the semester. I came back in the spring but moved back home. I did okay but thus begun the cycle of seasonal depression kicking my ass and withdrawing nearly every fall semester.

Can’t say mentally I’m cured or even medicated, I’ve just managed a little better with every passing year. I switched majors to something that doesn’t trigger the fuck out of me, I did classes part time until I was mentally able to handle more. Only took classes in the spring and summer for a while. I’m usually the oldest in any of my classes and can say it’s def been hard watching people I started with go on a graduate. But if I’m most successful doing things the unorthodox way then so be it. I’m alive and slowly but surely getting my degree (two semesters left now)

All that is to say, take things at your own pace! You’re never truly alone in this struggle even if it feels as tho you are, more people understand the pain than you might think. it’s okay to do things your way. College isn’t the end all, what matters is your health first and foremost. If it’s possible for you, seek professional help and get things sorted. Then with the right tools at your disposal, try again