Hooray for cold and flu season!!! Just kidding. I HATE being sick. However, everyone is bound to get the sniffles at least once a year as the seasons change. It sucks, it's rough, and it definitely puts a damper on your day. Luckily, there is a vaccine you can get to combat the sickness to the best of your abilities. But here's an unpopular life choice I tend to make— I don't get my flu shot.

No, I'm not against it because of the whole "VACCINES CAUSE AUTISM HOW COULD YOU VACCINATE YOUR CHILD" mumbo jumbo. That's a different argument for a different time, but for the record, I will vaccinate myself, my child, or my dog if I really want to.

I digress.

My reasoning behind not getting the flu shot is much simpler than that.

I just don't want to. It makes me sicker.

I know, I know. Your mind is blown, your reasons to disagree with me are disintegrating, the flu vaccine is quaking in her boots. No, but really, I never get the flu shot because of how much sicker it makes me.

I tend to get sick once or twice when the seasons change majorly. Winter to spring, mid-fall, summer to fall. I get horrible allergies that usually turn into a horrible cold or sinus infection and a lot of medication. But dealing with a big cold is a lot better than dealing with the flu.

I used to get the flu shot every year around the time of my wellness check at the doctor. My birthday is the end of fall, so it was the perfect time to get the vaccine. I'm not afraid of needles, and I never had a problem with it until later in life.

As I got older, it would be a routine yearly. Get the flu shot, wait around a week, and then get terribly ill. Fever, chills, the shakes, stuffy nose, the whole nine yards. I would be stuck in my bed at home, missing school and fun events happening. A lot of the time, I would get majorly sick just in time for my birthday, Thanksgiving, or even Christmas and not be able to enjoy the holidays.

I've gotten vaccinated a lot since a child. Nothing has the same effect on me to this extent besides for the flu shot. It's like setting myself up for immediate failure days after I decide to get the shot.

Now, I don't know about you, but a little bit of Mucinex and a box of tissues sounds a lot better than having to put my work, school, friends, and entire life on hold to spend days in bed recovering.

I know that when you get a shot, they put a little bit of whatever you're getting vaccinated against into your body to up your immune system against it, but it's just ridiculous how badly the flu shot effects me. I don't like the feeling, and I don't really have to get it if I don't want it.

That being said, I also know that some people NEED the flu shot due to their immune system or allergies they may have. For example, my best friend's sister has horrible allergies, and everyone in their house needs to get the vaccine in order to keep her from getting really sick. When it comes to people like that, I don't like to subject them to sickness because of the choices I make. If I am sick, I will not go around her. If I'm not, I'm still careful about what I touch and what I do.

I don't choose to not get the flu vaccine for any other reason, so when you line up at the doctor's office this year, don't expect to see me there, but don't make assumptions as to why!