We all get sick. Sometimes its minor head colds and other times we're bed bound for weeks. The hardest part about being sick is allowing yourself to rest. As a college student, I don't have much time, to begin with. I'm always running around campus trying to get a million assignments and errands done before the day ends. When I'm sick, it's even worse because I don't have the time to lay down.
It's times like this that I think back to my elementary school days when I could stay home and have my mom take care of me. Now I'm walking to class with a Gatorade in one hand and a pack of tissues in the other. By the time I get to class I'm out of breath and I can't stop coughing. I get the annoyed looks from my classmates who fear getting sick as well. You see, the problem is that I don't blame them for being irritated at me. Hell, if someone sat down by me looking like they were sick with the plague, I'd make a face too.
Let me get something straight though. I wish I wasn't in class. I wish I was in my bed, covered in blankets, sipping on a warm cup of tea. I wish I didn't have to take notes on lectures or participate in class. I'm sorry that I keep blowing my nose and coughing, I'm really trying to spread as little germs as possible. Please don't blame me, I already feel bad enough being sick. If anything blame the professor. The person who doesn't accept being sick as an excuse to miss class. The person who will continue to tank my participation grade because I'm obviously struggling to stay awake with all the medication I'm on. You say that I need a doctor's note yet I can't afford to go to the infirmary for every little cold. I get that some students will use that excuse to not go to class but can't you see I'm dying over here?
Don't even get me started on all the homework and notes I'll have to make up. If I miss too much class, I don't think I'll ever catch up. I mean how can one person give that many lecture notes in a 50 minute period? You say I have to turn in my paper, in hard copy, and that you won't accept any emailed papers. I'm struggling to get out of bed, but you are making me come in anyway to hand you something that could easily be read online (and save some trees while we're at it). So please enjoy reading my paper, I hope me infesting the entire class with my sickness was worth it to you.
So I'm sorry to my classmates that I have to come to class when I'm sick. I'd really rather be sleeping, but our professor has made it extremely difficult for me to get the rest I need. Thus, begins a never-ending cycle of illness that we'll all eventually go through. To the teachers reading this that are understanding about getting sick and needing rest, you're awesome. And to the professors who can't wrap their head around the possibility that maybe I'm too sick to go to class but not sick enough to go to the hospital, maybe rethink how you handle the situation next time it arises. My education means a lot to me, but sometimes my health means a lot more.
