It wasn't even two weeks into my internship at an elementary school and I found myself waking up one morning with a sore throat, headache, and lethargy. I thought to myself "Oh there is no way in hell I am getting sick!" But it was too late; I was sick.

For about five days, I found myself with a fever, cough, stuffy nose, headache and I was exhausted. I was drinking Emergen-C like it was water and sleeping when I could. I didn't even go to my first week of classes since this cold had hit me like a freight train. (Bad cliche', I know.)

I started thinking about how flu season is right around the corner and realized that if I get this sick by a cold I picked up, I could become extremely sick with the flu if that hits me. I need to get my flu shot.

Last year, I was bad and I did not get my flu shot. I was fortunate enough to not fall ill with the flu, but this year I might not be so fortunate given the environment I am working in. I am going to get my flu shot and you should get yours too.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only injectable flu shot vaccines are recommended; the recommendation is not to use the nasal spray flu vaccine this year.

Each flu season is a bit different since strains of viruses are constantly mutating and this is why it is important to protect yourself against the flu by getting vaccinated even if you are afraid of needles. I am not afraid of needles, so I can't relate to that fear. A few seconds of a poke is better than lying in your bed or a hospital bed sick for weeks on end.

According to the CDC, flu vaccines protect against the three or four viruses (depending on the vaccine) that will be most common. For the 2017-2018 flu season, three component vaccines are recommended to contain the following:

• an A/Michigan/45/2015 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus (updated)
• an A/Hong Kong/4801/2014 (H3N2)-like virus
• a B/Brisbane/60/2008-like (B/Victoria lineage) virus

The CDC recommends everyone gets vaccinated before flu season takes off at the end of October. It takes two weeks after the vaccination for the antibodies to develop in the body that protects you against the flu. The sooner, the better.

If you still don't think you need a flu vaccine, think about this: Imagine you get the flu and it spreads to someone you love who may not have received the vaccine either, such as a grandparent, a young child, or a friend/relative who is pregnant and does not have as strong of an immune system as you do and they end up being hospitalized. Even though you may not get knocked down by the flu virus, someone else you love certainly could. With this being said, encourage your loved ones to get the vaccine.

The CDC estimates that the "flu has resulted in between 9.2 million and 35.6 million illnesses each year in the United States since 2010." Most strains of influenza are preventable if you get the flu vaccine.

If you aren't sure where to get the flu vaccine, check out this websiteto find out which pharmacies in your area are offering the vaccine. The flu vaccine is covered by all or most health insurance providers. If you do not have health insurance, your local health department likely offers the vaccine for free.

Don't be lazy like I was last year and flake out on the flu vaccine. A few seconds of a poke is far less painful than contracting influenza and being sick for weeks.