I've been sick the majority of the time since coming to college. I'm 75% done my freshman year, and in the short five or six months that I've attended Rowan, I've had strep throat, bronchitis, meningitis, a head cold, and most recently, a sinus infection and swollen lymph nodes. Not to mention the millions of migraines I have every week.

Now, it's not to say that I haven't been taking care of myself. I make sure that I'm eating properly (or as best as I can with college cafeteria food), dressing warmly because Glassboro has the worst weather mood swings of all time, and for the most part, I get plenty of sleep. But for whatever reason, my immune system seems to hate me.

It feels like I have a permanent residency at Urgent Care. I had to go last week because of my sinus infection/lymph node situation and one of the nurses recognized me. Kind of embarrassing, really. I can't say that a goal for college was being on a first name basis with the Urgent Care nurse.

She told me exactly what I was expecting. "It's not normal for you to be so sick all the time."

No kidding, really?

The nurse told me that if I continue to keep getting sick, I should get tested for different allergies. My mom thinks that there must be something on campus or something in my room that's making me so sick due to exposure. Personally, I have no clue. All I know is that it would be nice for once to feel good in my own skin and not like I'm dying.

I hate being sick. I look like crap the majority of the time and feel like crap all the time. I have to cancel plans with friends because I'm not feeling well, or I force myself to go out because I don't want to miss out on anything.

Then, of course, there is school work. It's so difficult to get homework done when you have a sinus headache or a migraine, and if you don't have a headache when you start, you'll have one within 20 or so minutes of trying to do work. You then have two options: power through and get shit done, or give up, do it later, and take a nap to try getting rid of the headache.

It's worse when something is due the next day or that night because then you don't have the option of doing it later, and you're forced to power through.

Being in class when you're sick is no easy feat, either.

My mom was really adamant on me going to class even when I'm sick, so I went. Unless I really, really felt like death, then I wasn't going (sorry, Mom).

But being in class sucks when you don't feel well. I would sit in my 9:30 A.M. class falling asleep because I had a head cold, and all I wanted to do was sleep. It didn't help that my professor droned on and on in such a monotone voice; it was like listening to an audiotape that is basically meant to make people pass out.

He even approached me after class, asking if I was okay or getting enough sleep. Nice guy. I didn't mean to fall asleep in class, but when you feel like absolute shit sometimes, it just happens.

Since being home for spring break, I've started to get better. I just know that when I get back to school, I'm more than likely to get sick again.

I know being around other people so much will get you sick, too, but like, what am I supposed to do? Live in a plastic bubble?

That's college; you're around other people almost 24/7.

I guess we'll see what illnesses the future has in store for me.