We finally made it to college. No more eight hour school days, no more mandatory gym class, and no more refusals when you ask to go to the bathroom (seriously who made that a rule?!). You get settled in with your new roommates, get used to what the dining hall has to offer, and become the wizard of time when it comes to getting to your 8 A.M. in t-minus four and a half minutes.

Things are so different, but its such a good different. You are able to explore the world around you that has always been there, and yet you were never able to fully dive into. The universe is brand new again, and even though it sometimes feels like you're walking a tight rope across the Grand Canyon, the thrill of it all ignites a wild happiness within you.

Fast forward just a bit to the changing of the seasons where the once beautiful fall leaves are now crunching beneath your feet. Winter is here and in college that means the impending doom of the unavoidable plague is just around the corner. No, I don't mean the actual plague. I mean every possible sickness you could contract. From the sniffles all the way to mononucleosis *cue warlike flashbacks*, the hard truth of it all is that you're going to come down with something no matter how much hand sanitizer you use.

We've all been sick before though, right? We know which over the counter medicines to get and what kind of hot tea we like. What we don't know, however, is how to tend to our illness without the tender love and care of our parental unit. Whether this is mom, dad, grandma, or someone else that kissed your boo-boos when you feel off your razor scooter, reality really throws you for a loop when you reach for that first tissue.

No one is coming over to feel your forehead, or press their cheek against your cheek to check for a fever. No one has already gone to the store for the winter or gotten the baby humidifier out of storage. It's just little ole' helpless you, sitting on your springy mattress, wishing you had dusted you room before you got sick... or dusted your room, like, ever.

Your roomie is as helpful as they can be with their fifteen hour days and occasional club meetings, but they're lacking in the hug and homemade soup department. Your parents can overnight you a plethora of supplies, but all the Vick's VapoRub and canned Campbell's soup can't fill the home-shaped hole in your heart.

Living away from home for the first time is hard. Being away from your comfort zone when the college plague is upon you is even worse. The things is, we were made for this. We trudged through the mud of applications, trekked across miles of open campuses, and said goodbye to our childhood rooms.

No matter if it's sickness, fear of the future, or an insanely difficult test coming up that has got you down, don't forget that you've been through much worse. The other side is always closer than you think.