Getting sick sucks. Now I know I sound like I'm stating the obvious with this assertion but even the obvious bears repeating on occasion. Now everyone knows the feeling of getting sick, you go from feeling fine as your average everyday self to feeling as if you just want to lie down and isolate yourself. The worst part is how rapidly this change takes place, just a couple of days and its taken you over, while on the flip side it always seams to take forever to get better. What makes being sick even more unbearable though, is being sick while in college, particularly during finals week.

College is that magical place where every germaphobes worst nightmares seem to come to life. You are surrounded by hundreds of strangers, many of whom have the most suspect of hygienic standards. As if that wasn't bad enough, you are forced into close quarters with them on a regular basis and share that most disease ridden of places in common, the bathroom. It’s enough to make you paranoid. Once fall arrives and flu and cold season start, the world is out to get you. And you know what? You’re right. As soon as someone in your communal bubble gets a cough or a case of the sniffles, you know that you're next.

Once an illness sets in, school gets down right nasty. Aches and pains make your walk to class almost unbearable. A sore throat and cough make you sound like you smoke four packs a day when you give that final class presentation. Your exhaustion makes staying awake in that one boring class feel like CIA sleep deprivation and that headache makes studying for finals borderline impossible. It's even worse if you are a student athlete, then doing something as simple as an easy warm up run feels like an Olympic marathon. In short, when you'd rather be curled up in your room sleeping or watching Netflix life says "no, no" and drags you back to the daily grind.

Another symptom of being sick that you won't find in any medical book or doctor’s office is homesickness. There’s nothing like an illness to make you painfully aware of your limited college support system. Gone are the easy days of grade school where you could miss a day of school or go home early and feel as if you missed nothing important. Gone as well are the days of having parents worry and fuss over you as you lie on the couch or in bed absorbing their tender love and care.

I now fondly recall the days of being sick and staying home with my dad. Lying on the couch still in my pajamas watching T.V. and just a little bit smug that my sister was going to school and not I. He'd make me a special 'cocktail; some 7-up mixed with cranapple juice. He'd be out in his office working but always be a shout away. When lunchtime came he would make me something to eat, then we'd settle in to watch a movie that he thought I'd enjoy. In the evening my mom would get home from work and fuss over me all night, asking if I was all right and putting a cool cloth on my forehead if I had a fever. I even miss my little sister slipping into nurse mode, constantly checking up on me and bringing out Lucky, the stuffed sickness bear.

Now my sickness support system is a pack of tissues I carry in my backpack and my ever-faithful bottle of Ibuprofen. Quite the upgrade in care don't you think? I suppose I can’t be entirely bitter though, being sick in college has given me yet another reason to treasure my parents and all they've done for me. It has given me another set of memories to cherish. Being sick in college is another step on the path to growing up, but it’s also a good moment to reflect on how you can better appreciate those moments of tender love and care you received as a child. Stay healthy, get well.