I don't mean your life should be balanced...Jesus promised us problems (trials and tribulations).  I mean you have to work thru your feelings to find a balance.  Care about your education and this paper issue.  Care about family issues.  Care about the forum issues.  Et cetera. But don't let them consume you.  Take the actions you need to take to reconcile with family and with the forum.  Work thru the grievance process.  Take time to focus on God, and ask him for peace, daily or even hourly if needed.  And for strength to deal with it all. 

Amanda's computer went belly side up last night, so if she doesn't respond for awhile, that's why...

I cannot attest to her intentions.

Nicely put, Penny.

But you forgot that if you pick the incorrect path, you get to do it all over again and again  until you get to the right path.

Dear lord do I know...

Honestly, I don't know the dynamics of the problems or situations that you are experiencing.  But reading the posts, I will try to answer your question as I would do it for myself.

1. Give your problems to God -  excellent suggestion!
     The downside is how do you perceive that God is going to answer.  Do you hope that God will waive a wand and make it all go away, or continue to keep you in these terrible situations?  What is one's belief? Either that God is benevolent or maybe doesn't care.  Sometimes we think that God flip flops depending on what is happening today.  If one's core belief in God is a certain way, then one must hold onto that belief and look for the upside to the event, no matter how bad it is.

2. Bruce's wonderful sermon last saturday about change - what is your expectations for the problems to go away or stay?
    That's has a lot of bearing on what you attract to yourself.  If you expect that things are going to stay the same or get worse, I have found that no matter how bad something is - it can always get worse.     Attitude is a great distinguisher and changer of a situation. There was a business book with a doctrine - I will paraphrase  - that "one should love every complaint or problems from a customer, for it allows you an opportunity to show what you can really do to fix the situation"

3. Acceptance or rejection of responsibility.
    If the situation or problem is due to something that you did, then it is just that. All actions have consequences.  Accepting responsibility for one's actions is hard, embarrassing, and goes against the grain.  Yet, it also allows the person to have freedom from a continuing guilt, value in other's eyes as a person of integrity, and after accepting the consequences one finds that it really doesn't hurt that bad.  It is getting past our egos - as our society embraces today - it's not our fault that we did something wrong, it's the other guy's fault for allowing me the opportunity to do it.    Gotta love those attorney ads.

4. Talk to an outside disinterested person who you expect and trust to give you an honest, no holds barred answers.
    Tough one.    I have done this myself. Sometimes I know the person and we have an agreement that I will not be angry at them, and that I trust that they will tell me the cold hard facts as they see it. My personal feelings are left outside the door and I expect them to treat me without any "kid gloves" in their evaluation.   I also have set my mind to accept their input as being a true analysis of the situation. Many times, it is a character flaw that I have overlooked in my life. It may be that I am wrong and need to make amends. I need to change how I handled the situation or my personal self.  Then I will accept and act on their viewpoints.

I would have to say that all of the above are my considerations for answering your question from my personal viewpoint.  I hope that things get better and you find your peace.
   

Unfortunately, plenty of things in life are out of our control. With school, you can speak with the professor and file the grievance if necessary. The ultimate decision lies with the school. The part you play is how you speak with the instructor and your reactions to the outcome. Though it is not in your power to decide, it is in your power to choose how to handle it. Of course, there's not guarantee that it will turn out the way you want, but at this point, there is not guarantee that it won't.

As far as your mom and your dogs are concerned, that's obviously out of your hands, too, as you've stated. But, you can be encouraging to your mom and maybe even help her with a resume or finding jobs- where to look, what to do, etc. Your dogs need their "mama" to love them and comfort them. Your love will make all the difference, no matter the outcome. I know this is hard and it sucks.

I think everything can be a learning experience. If there's not a specific "lesson", there's always character building- a chance to see your own strengths and be encouraged in what you can do and/or how you handle it; and, a chance to see your weaknesses and take notes on how to handle it better the next time or ways you can avoid it.

These situations are never easy or fun or (and definitely not always fair). But, one's character make or break the situation- or the person.

Thanks, Paul. If only it were easy to do...