Being sick is never any fun. But, it's even worse when you're in college.
Think about it. Up through high school you'd get sick. Mom would call in and let the school know you were sick. You spent the day in bed getting fed and having your temperature taken and watching T.V. Being sick wasn't fun, but at least it was tolerable.
Fast forward to college. Suddenly, you get sick, and your body is telling you to go back to sleep. But, you know that you have four homework assignments due, you need to email all your professors and you have to get shifts covered at work. You know that when your illness lasts beyond a day or two, you're going to end up going to the doctor because you're going to need a doctor's note. If you're anything like me, by the time that doctor's appointment rolls around, you're already a wreck because despite marathoning Gilmore Girls, drinking juice like it's your lifeline, and taking your ibuprofen every four hours on the dot (using alarms you set yourself), you still aren't getting better. So, when the doctor tells you that it's likely more than just the flu, you start mentally going through everything you need to get done. And, then the doctor tells you that you have to stop worrying about those things and just focus on getting better.
But, how are we actually supposed to do that? There are bills to be paid, classes to attend (but we also can't get our classmates sick), post-graduation plans to be figured out. Basically, there is just no time to be sick.
That's a sad reality. But, I'd guess that if you asked any college student, they would agree. Getting sick in college is stressful and there really is no time for it. Then, most of us do that stupid thing where we try to go to class or work because we don't have time to be sick and we end up making ourselves worse or we get our classmates sick.
It just becomes a cycle. I wish I had some way to change it or fix it, but the truth is that college students don't have time to get sick. So, parents, when your college kid calls you freaking out because they're running a 102 or crying in a parking lot because they don't have time to have mono, try to comfort them. Remind them that they can and will get better, but they DO have to rest.
