system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
How to contact professor after ghosting?

At the end of my Masters degree 7 months ago, my supervisor was impressed with my thesis. He said there was a chance I could get it published and so I agreed to keep working on it (for free) back in my home country.


After about 2 months however, I stopped working on it and sending any updates. This was due to a few reasons:

1. As I worked on it more, the less novel I found my work to have been and results got less conclusive.

2. I had some mental health and family issues.

3. Financial pressures made me have to get a job quicker (I had initially budgeted some time to work on this)


I am not proud of how I dealt with this however. I just ghosted an email from him asking about my progress. Then, I got locked out of my university account (expired) which can only be unlocked by going to tech support in person (I am no longer in the country).


Now, I would like to get in touch with him. I am embarrassed by my conduct despite the reasons for it. My reasons for wanting to get in touch with him are not entirely selfish:

1. I would like to have the chance to thank him for the fantastic experience I had working under him

2. I would like to apologize for my conduct

3. I would like to give him an update regarding my career (which is in the field of his & my research!)

4. I would like to rebuild the relationship and have him as a referee/reference for the future. (I am NOT seeking a reference in the immediate future)


Any advice on how to word my email to him to achieve these four objectives would be highly appreciated. Please note that I do not want/expect him to work with me again. I understand that that bridge is burnt. Thank you!
gpt
I don't understand why you're so upset about this. It was 100% predictable that you'd stop working on something you aren't paid to work on when you needed to get a job. That's why PhD programs pay you a stipend instead of expecting you to fund your life while doing research for free. Most likely, your supervisor understands completely what went on and why.

Just send him a nice email with points 1-4. He'll probably be happy to hear from you.