Right after Thanksgiving break, every college student is worn down, exhausted and so ready for Christmas that it’s all anyone can think about. While the semester's end is fast approaching and winter break will be here before you know it, keeping your health at the forefront of your priorities is crucial.

Your physical and mental well-being HAS to be your number one priority. Otherwise, you’ll end up like me last year at this time.

During my first round of finals ever as a naive freshman, I had both the flu and pneumonia, without even knowing it. I vaguely remember telling myself it was “only a bad cough” and “head-cold” from staying up too late to study.

But I was SO wrong.

I was going through the motions, not feeling well, telling myself that everyone was in the same boat as me. While yes, many others were sick right before exams, they were most likely taking proper precautions to avoid getting worse, unlike me.

I didn’t go to the doctors. I didn't rest. I didn't slow down.

I didn’t get my flu shot last year either, for the first time ever. While some don’t believe the shot prevents you from getting the flu, the one year I didn't get the shot, I got it.

Every day leading up to my exams, my mom continuously sent me reminder texts to drink lots of water and use the Emergen-C vitamin supplement that she swore by. Even though I did follow her rules, it was already too late. The Emergen-C would have been helpful a few weeks prior, but since I ignored all my warning signs, it did not save me.

When it came time for my finals I took every single one. On a good day, I am never a strong test taker, so needless to say my exams did not good well given I was at my absolute worst. If only I had been smart and gone to the doctor’s before then, I would have been exempt.

I have a fuzzy memory of walking into my psychology exam not even remembering how I made it to class. If I hadn’t have walked to the building with a friend, I probably wouldn’t have made it there at all. I didn’t remember where my assigned seat was and I couldn’t even recall how to spell my last name. I blindly guessed answer after answer which resulted in a horrible exam grade, dropping my overall grade by one whole letter.

To this day, I still have no clue how I managed to make Dean’s List amid my sickness. Looking back I’ll always wish I had gone to the doctors sooner because I could have had a higher GPA. But in the grand scheme of things, your GPA doesn’t define you and we all make mistakes.

I have no recollection of the car ride home for Christmas or even going to the doctor’s that next day once I was home. I lost all the color in my eyes and my face was ghostly white. I even dropped 10 pounds from the pneumonia/flu duo, which as a small 5'2'' was very evident. All of break was spent in bed, besides venturing out for a family dinner and Christmas Eve Mass.

It's safe to say I won't make that mistake ever again.

Today you can catch me drinking Emergen-C almost every morning on my way to class to avoid what happened last winter. And you better believe I got my Flu shot this year too.