When the chilly weather rolls around, it’s your first hint at the coming of sickness season. We are freshly exposed to the powerful wave of coughing, colds, and flu symptoms that makes good on its promise to return every year. Aside from the usual attack of germs that life’s activities bring, college cultivates an environment where germs run rampant and can strike anytime, anywhere. Living in close quarters in residence halls and interacting with so many people everyday speeds up the infection process, so you find yourself asking the question of "when?" You know it’s only a matter of time before you’re the next victim of one of these awful sicknesses. As people drop like flies, all you can do is put on a brave face and hope to God you’re one of the lucky ones who has some kind of hidden immunity. To stay safe from these flu attacks, you’ve got to be informed of the symptoms, so here are some of the tell-tale signs these dangerous germs are headed your way.

You know it’s that time of year when:

1. You’ve got the itchiness in the back of your throat that won’t go away.

2. After spending twenty minutes with someone who was coughing, you feel the urge to start coughing too.

3. Functioning on that 4 hours of sleep is really starting to catch up to you.

4. You actually feel the need to put yourself through the ordeal of getting checked out at the university health center.

5. You become OCD about washing your hands 24/7.

6. Mental and physical exhaustion have become part of the routine.

7. Your coffee addiction prevents you from getting your necessary intake of water per day, leaving you dehydrated.

8. You think you’re going to be safe because you just endured the trauma of a cold a few weeks ago, but you end up jinxing yourself.