Unless you have an immune system of iron, any college student can relate to the absolute inconvenience of being sick during the semester. You know? When you wake up in the morning and do not feel like P-Diddy. (Side note: How does P-Diddy feel when he wakes up? If he's anything like me it ain't pretty.) In fact, you feel like the farthest thing from P-Diddy; you feel like Brittany Spears mid-meltdown. But you still get up, you still go to class, and you slowly but surely die a little bit when that cold you've been battling for about 5 days lasts FIVE WEEKS.
As a college student, you can't really afford to miss class, both literally and figuratively. When classes average around $70 every time you go and the content you would miss is pertinent for a test later, you bet you're gonna get your butt up and make the journey across campus to get there. If you miss class, you feel so behind at the next class and depending on what days you have it, you may still not feel up to going. The only thing worse than missing one class, is missing two or three or four.
Aside from not wanting to miss class, for some people, going to the doctor or scheduling an appointment is downright terrifying. Personally, I hate going to the doctor. It's not doctors themselves who freak me out, it's the stench of rubbing alcohol and the possibility of having to get a shot, which for me almost always results in a panic attack. No thank you, I'll pass.
Another thing is that you will want to sleep. Oh, you will want to sleep so badly you'll wish that being a Baylor Bear included hibernation. Then the cold reality hits you. You can't. You have homework, studying, extracurriculars, rehearsals, practices, and absolutely no time for extra sleep. The best you can do is nap between classes, but even that can prove difficult and just downright uncomfortable depending on where you are.
Lastly, your parents aren't there to take care of you. Nothing is more depressing than when you feel completely horrible and your mom can't come and ask you how you're feeling, or bring you a smoothie, and all those other things that someone else could do, but its not the same because they just aren't your mom.
So, what is a college student to do? I'll tell you.
1. Drink LOTS of water.
2. Sleep as much as possible. Yeah, this kind of goes against all the other things you have going on, but do your best.
3. Don't try and tell yourself you aren't sick. You are. Denial isn't doing to fix anything.
4. Try to stay on top of your schoolwork. Only miss class if absolutely necessary.
5. Call home. That always makes me feel better. Or, better yet, FaceTime your dog. It's the trivial things that can make the biggest difference.
I'm not saying these things will temper the fact that being sick in college sucks, but hopefully they make for a faster recovery time. They've helped me in the past! No matter what, being sick is the worst, so stave off sickness as much as possible and you'll be A-okay!
