If you ask me how my first month of college is going, I'll have to give you a mixed answer. I'm having an amazing time meeting new people, trying new clubs and organizations, enjoying my classes, and discovering my newfound independence. I have also had my fair share of unfortunate experiences. As many of you know, I started my collegiate experience off with a broken foot (which I thankfully got off last week) and the day after I was free of my cast, I was immediately hit hard with an array of illnesses. I made my first trip to health services and was told that I have laryngitis, strep throat, and an ear infection. While I know that everyone gets sick in college, it was definitely frustrating to get so sick so fast especially after just getting over an injury. Here are some of the worst things that happen when you're sick at college.
1. You can't miss classes.
In college many professors do not accept an illness as a reason to miss class. In most of my classes there is a 3 strike program in place and after you miss the third class you grade goes down half a letter. Even the classes that let you miss class won't let you make up any of the work that you missed in class. So as much as it stinks, "sick days" are a thing of the past and you have to go anyway.
2. There's no soap in the bathroom.
Maybe this is only a problem in my dorm, but we run out of soap in our bathroom a lot making it impossible to wash your hands as much as you should to stop spreading germs.
3. You aren't at home.
Being sick in a brand new place is tough and not having your mom with you is even harder. You don't have anyone to make you feel better and you can't lay down on your couch and watch TV all day.
4. It spreads!
Living in a college dorm is like being in preschool times a million when it comes to germs. Everyone is on top of each other all the time and with new people and new germs, sickness spreads like wildfire. If one person on your floor is sick you had better start drinking orange juice and taking Emergen-C because trust me, it's coming around.
5. People are loud.
Just because you are sick and want to go to bed at 7 does not mean that the rest of your dorm does. People are going to be loud and laughing and having fun outside and inside and you're going to have a terribly hard time trying to get some peace and quiet.
6. Tough to sleep.
Let's be honest, the Twin XL cardboard mattresses that college's provide are not comfortable at all. Between that, being sick, and the noise, it's going to be tough to fall asleep and stay asleep the whole time that you're sick.
7. Too much to do.
Like I said, classes don't stop when you're sick so even though you have the flu, you still have three papers, a presentation, and two tests to study for. You also have your four classes to attend and your professors' office hours as well as the clubs you committed to.
8. FOMO
The toughest part of being sick that I found was the fear of missing out. It was absolutely miserable to sit in my room and try to sleep while all of my friends were in the lounge hanging out and making memories.
9. Paying for a dining plan.
Dining plans are ridiculously expensive and when you're sick you probably won't be eating very much. Knowing that you're wasting possibly hundreds of dollars at the dining hall is tough to thing about.
10. No privacy.
Living with roommates means that you aren't going to have the room to yourself all that often and you probably won't be able to sleep as much as you would like with the very little amount of time that you have to do so.
