Towards the end of 2018, when Bratty was struggling with her classes, she sought professional help and was referred to a psychiatrist.  The doctor prescribed some medication for Bratty and initially she reported feeling better.  She met Special Friend # 2 at a school mixer (so much for hunkering down, as Bratty’s social media posts were all filled with undergrad college events and mixers). 

During the Spring of 2019, during Bratty’s second semester, she had hoped to pull up her grades.  The program required a 3.0 or higher to graduate with a certificate, and provided a special recommendation letter for students to include with the med school applications.  Bratty was under that bar so she had some work to do. 

When classes went on holiday for a week in spring break, Bratty spent that week with her new Special Friend # 2.  She told SO she had a nice, relaxing week and was looking forward to getting back to classes.  She mentioned she had a big Chemistry exam the Tuesday after spring break and she felt pressure to do well to pull up her grade.

As it happened Bratty never made it class for her big exam.  She felt anxious and overwhelmed, and went to the free counseling service provided by the college the day before the exam.  She told the counselor she was having suicidal thoughts and they told her to go to the ER immediately.  Bratty did as she was told, and once at the ER they performed an evaluation.  They determined Bratty was not at risk for self-harm and instructed Bratty to stop the medication.  They also called Bratty’s psychiatrist to set up an appointment for the next day.  They sent Bratty home.

Bratty went home but felt exhausted from her ordeal and fell asleep.  She apparently slept through the exam the next day and therefore missed it completely.  She contacted the professor later in the week and explained what happened.  The professor had rules in place in the event of illness on exam days.  A doctor’s note was required to be submitted prior to the exam (email was fine).  Bratty had not done this and he told her she could not take a make-up test.  This meant a zero for the exam and a certain F in the class.

Bratty appealed to the department chair who finally agreed they would drop the missed exam altogether and base her grade off of her other tests, which brought her up to a C.  However this left Bratty well below a 3.0 for her second semester.  The program director informed her she had a couple of options.  She could stay and continue taking classes through the summer session and earn a certificate.  Alternatively she could take a leave of absence due to her mental health struggles but she could not re-enroll for a full year.  Lastly, Bratty was advised that the school would not be providing a letter of recommendation for Bratty to include in med school applications.  Bratty tried to appeal this (as the letter was a key recommendation from the program that med schools relied on) but was denied due to her grades.

I should add here I don’t think that Bratty was faking her report of suicidal ideation to get out of her chemistry exam – I do think it was a side effect of the medication she was on compounded with test anxiety.  However, it was typical Bratty behavior that led to the anxiety – procrastinating (when she should have been studying) through spring break and trying to cram in studying for the exam at the last minute.  Then feeling overwhelmed and having no time to get help from the professor or TA’s or even the therapist.  The psychiatrist eventually told Bratty to stop the medication altogether and to seek traditional talk therapy for her issues instead, as the doctor did not believe medication would help her.

Bratty ultimately decided to drop out at the end of her second semester.  She wanted to work on improving her mental health prior to re-committing to classes.  She spent the summer mostly loafing around (again) and finally came up with a plan to apply to Americorps for a paid volunteer job for a year before returning to take classes at a different school.  Bratty applied and was accepted into the program, and was placed as a volunteer health educator at a community clinic in the Bay Area.  So at the end of summer, Bratty broke up with Special Friend # 2 and made the move across the country. 

Her first stop was our house, of course, as SO was getting a new car for himself and told her she could have his almost 15 year old convertible.  In that convertible, Bratty planned to move her bed and mattress, her desk, her dresser, clothes, books, her 3 guitars plus amplifier (that she never played), an old tent, her inflatable kayak, her bike, and other things.  Yes she thought that would all fit in one car.  Unsurprisingly, more drama awaited us.