As I sit here, recovering from the worst case of strep throat I have ever experienced, I have decided to reminisce on the worst sicknesses I’ve gotten living at college.

4. Pink Eye

While this one was not terrible, I walked around with goopy eyes all day before I realized. I also woke up with my eyes sealed shut due to the dried crust from said goop before. Oh, and I had it in both eyes.

3. Cold

While the common cold may not seem daunting, it is definitely annoying. So many tissues, cough drops, OTC pain medications. The worst parts about a cold are that it’s not sick enough to get you out of things, but just sick enough to make you want to lay in bed all day, and that it seems to linger for way longer than it should.

2. Sinus Infection

Is it a cold, is it the flu, is it allergies? I’ve had my fair share of sinus infections in my lifetime, but it also is worse when you are away from home having to take car of yourself. My head had so much pressure (almost as if an elephant was in fact standing on my face) and I’m pretty sure I went through three tissue boxes in a matter of two days.

1. Strep Throat

By fair the worst I have ever felt at school to date. It was as if I swallowed 16 razorblades. A few days of a fever, terrible sleep, body aches, and not being able to eat, drink, or swallow my own saliva. I went to student health the minute they opened one morning and cried to have them fit me in to an appointment that very minute. Pro tip: If you cry, they will always find a doctor or nurse to see you right away.