I am writing this on October 6, 2016 at 1 o'clock in the morning. What's the reason I am up so late doing this, you might ask. The answer: the freshmen plague.

I am currently sitting alone in my dorm room, surrounded by empty water bottles and used tissues, listening to the girls in the room next door complaining about how annoying and loud my cough is, as their voices echo through our adjoining wall. I have been sitting here for the past two hours, as I have been unsuccessfully trying to go to sleep. As my cough is keeping me up for what looks like the rest of the night, I have some time to reflect on my experience with the plague.

It all started on September 30, 2016, "a date which will live in infamy." It began with a slight sore throat and a... --- Sorry, I lost my train of thought. I stopped coughing for a minute and tried to take advantage of the opportunity to finally go to sleep (but yet again, I am still wide awake and coughing).

Now, where was I? Oh yes, it began with a slight sore throat and very little coughing. These symptoms lasted a mere few days. By October 4, my symptoms had progressed into a nasty cough, congestion, a runny nose, a fever, and an ear infection. But not all variations of the freshmen plague have the same exact symptoms.

The "freshmen plague," as I have defined it, is the circulation of a vicious cold among college freshmen as they live in tight quarters with others for the first time. Depending on an individual's immune system or health rate, symptoms can vary for better or for worse.

It is inevitable for college freshmen to catch the plague. I myself thought I was better than plague and thought that I could be the one person to not get it. I spent my first five weeks at school constantly using hand sanitizer, washing my hands, and taking Vitamin C. And when I say constantly, I really do mean constantly. Anyone who knows me very well knows that I am a bit of a germaphobe. Anytime I was near someone who coughed, I quickly ran to take a Hall's Vitamin C Drop. I never went a meal without washing my hands first, in fear the germs that were on my hands would enter my body.

But alas, here I am, sitting in bed at one o'clock in the morning, defeated by the freshmen plague. I am sick and tired, and blame my weak immune system for letting me get to this place.

To anyone else who thinks they too are better than the freshmen plague- the plague is coming for you. Take it from me, a girl who just wants to be in her own bed at home, with her parents catering to every single one of her needs while she lays there ill.

And to my next door neighbors who keep loudly making rude comments about how they don't want to listen to me cough anymore, I just want to let you know that the wall in between our two rooms is very, very thin, and I can hear every word you are saying about me! :)