I thought colds were for when it's, you know, cold.
When everyone around you is getting sick and even the sky looks grey. That's when you get to bundle up and eat some soup until you're nursed back to health. I know I'm in California, so winter doesn't really count here, but it can get a little chilly.
That's when you're supposed to get sick. Not when it's 90 degrees outside and all you want to do is blast your AC. I'll never understand why the body has to do such weird things, like get sick in the summer, but what I do know is that there truly isn't anything worse.
For one, who wants to eat soup when they're already sweating? No, you don't have a fever. It's just unbearably hot outside and you're trying to save on the electric bill by not going crazy with the air-conditioning. So what are you supposed to eat? Gazpacho? No thanks.
While we're still on the topic of temperature, what are you going to do without 100 blankets to keep you safe and warm from the germ monsters? Or without taking a hot shower to help clear your sinuses. Are you really just going to lie there blanket-less and stuffed up?
And another thing, no one thinks about sick people during the summer. You know how when flu season rolls around and the drugstores have those nice little displays at the front where you can grab everything you need and go? Yeah, that doesn't happen in the summer. It's like people forget that sick people exist. So instead of quickly going in and grabbing what you need, you now have to walk around the entire store to find everything. Who knew that crackers and tissues weren't sold in the same aisle?
I used to think that being sick at college was the worst, but try being sick at college, during the summer. So not only are you without your parents, but you're without most of your friends who can run and get you stuff and listen to you complain about being sick. One of the most important parts of any illness is completely chaining yourself to your bed. Well, that doesn't happen when you run out of rehydration fluids or saltines.
Oh, and you thought missing class was bad, try missing work. With class all you have to do is grab some notes from a friend. At work you just don't get paid -- unless you have paid sick leave, in which case God bless. But you also have to send and email to your boss and co-workers explaining why everyone has to rearrange their shifts, knowing that at least one of them probably thinks you're faking.
But really the worst thing about being sick during the summer, is that you're sick at all! Summer is for living life with careless abandon and staying up all night with friends and getting into (minimal) trouble. You can't do that when your body decides to turn into a germ factory. Moral of the story: Take your vitamin C and get some sleep. You never know when the cold bug might bite.
