Hello, hi, bonjour, hola — it is me, Leah. Your resident freshman blogger. I am barely 19, away from home for the first time, and definitely still figuring things out. I am a baby adult literally a newborn adult. It’s been roughly 80 days since I left Nashville, and I just had my first big “adulthood” test. I was sick. Very sick. Without my mom, my own bathroom and my own bedroom. I’ll spare you the details, but I learned a few things over the past two weeks, so I’ll share that with all of you (although I don’t know if anyone besides my mom reads this…hi mom).
1. College is like preschool all over again
I’m sure you’ve heard this one, but I’ll reiterate. College is a breeding ground for germs. Your immune system has finally settled into fighting the diseases of your hometown, but college is an entire new ball game. Unless your immune system is crazy strong, you’re gonna catch something.
2. When you do catch something, DON’T “POWER THROUGH”. Take care of yourself!
See, I feel that. Powering through is my specialty. There are people to see, things to do, holidays to celebrate…and a little cold is not going to stand in my way! Good for you. You do that. Except then when you go celebrate Halloween by singing karaoke at a soda shop with your friends and some strangers, your already-weak immune system will be exposed to more sick people who are “powering through” and then you will get the stomach bug and a cold AT THE SAME TIME and be miserable for two weeks and become a hermit and forget what it feels like to be a healthy functioning human and just want to cry and have your mom make you tea and take care of you but she can’t because you’re at college and she is very many miles away. (This is hypothetical.)*
So, moral of the story, if you feel yourself catching a bug, rest! Drink LOTS of water and catch up on your sleep. You’ll thank yourself later.
Also do call your mom. Even if she is many many miles away, it’ll make you feel better. Also, she’s probably worrying about you…just check in to let her know you’re still alive, since she can’t come check on you herself.
*totally not hypothetical
3. Go to the infirmary!
It’s really not scary, I promise. There are really nice people in there who will assure you that you’re not dying, no matter what WebMD says, and tell you how to take care of yourself. It will give you some peace of mind — you are doing what you can to help yourself get better. They are also the only people who can excuse you from your classes for illness — no more Mom-calling-the-front-office, you are responsible for your own academics now.
4. Be responsible for your academics, but be honest with yourself with how much you can do.
When you are sick, you are sick. That doesn’t mean completely abandon all of your academic responsibilities, but you want to do your best work. So, do how much you can handle. If you feel okay at some point in the day, try to get things done then, so you’re not stuck doing things when you physically can’t.
5. Let your professors know. Don’t overshare.
At Furman, the classes are small enough that a professor will usually notice if you’re gone. As a courtesy to them, try to send a quick email explaining that you are under the weather, you will keep up with your work, and that you will hopefully see them next class period. You don’t really have to go into detail beyond that. Your professors definitely care about you, but they probably do not want to know how many times you’ve thrown up. No one but your mom really cares about the intimate details.
6. Apologize to your roomie, and promise to do something really, really nice for them once you’re able to leave the bed.
My poor roomie didn’t get the room to herself for an entire week, because I basically couldn’t leave the bed. So, when you’re better, give them some time to chill by themselves. And maybe buy them a cupcake. They will probably appreciate it, because even if you’re the nicest person in the world, you’ve gotta have some “me” time every once in a while.
So there you have it. My first piece of advice should actually be
AVOID GETTING SICK AT ALL COSTS. IT IS MISERABLE.
But, ya know, sometimes it happens. And if it does, you can make it! I did! I came out the other side feeling like a new person. If anything, getting sick reminded me of how lucky I am to be generally healthy. So, never fear. You can do it! Good luck, baby adults.
xoxo lovelyleahp