By: Kirthana Iyer
So Boston just had the cruelest flu season by far. I mean you had the students who were dropping like flies, then roommates of the students who were dropping like flies, then the professors and then more students. It is actually insane. I was the roommate who got it. Ha. Ha. Ha. Swag.
And the timing…oh, the timing…midterms week am I right??? The flu knows where to hit you. AND it was my first time getting it. Honestly, God was playing a joke on me. So, by now, you got that I got the flu. During midterms week.
How did I survive, you ask? Well, I barely did.
Alright so this plague hit me on Saturday, or at least that’s when I started experiencing the symptoms. It started with the world’s worst headache. I thought my head was going to fall off and I was going to fall off the face of the earth. So…that was fun.
Then came the need to nap. I wanted to always be in bed but I couldn’t even fall asleep because I was so irritable. Your body is dead, but you still can’t sleep, so that’s solid.
And when you least expect it, THE SNEEZING. By far, the absolute worst part. You require an ample flow of tissues at all times. And on top of that, Vaseline to keep your nose from getting dry. You wanna stop sneezing and you want the gunk to just STOP. It never stops. It will actually be there until day six. Don’t even bother trying to deny it.
Finally the absolute last part: a COUGH. This keeps you from sleeping, this doesn’t help when you’re taking a test, this will keep you from breathing, and this will also invoke vomiting. So the best.
Alright now, let’s add in the midterms.
So by Monday, which was supposed to be day one of the flu midterm season, I was dying in bed and I looked like a whale who couldn’t move. I was moaning, making weird noises, peeing every five seconds, finishing hydro flasks left and right, and dying. So, as you can imagine an email was sent to beg to take the midterm later. Â
Then, the official day one of midterms! I woke up, showered because that opened up the passageway to breathe a little, and got ready. I walked down the three flights of stairs and thought to myself, “is this worth it?” But I knew that I had to ace this exam. I live in East but I had to get over to West, so I took the bus because ya girl did not have the energy to walk. I TOOK IT and I DIPPED. Then I came back and slept. And slept and slept. And got sick a little, then slept again. Then I woke up and attempted to study. Day 1 done!
Day two was a little rougher because my body was starting to get more tired. I went outside and the weather was just hitting me pretty hard. I was still on my all water diet so it became harder to stand. BUT THE MIDTERMS WERE NOT OVER. So I drank a little tea and some Emergen-C to gain a little energy. I took my midterm, did pretty okay, came back and slept again. My days were just so exciting, weren’t they?
Day 3: THE FINAL DAY OF MIDTERMS. I had one at 9:30. Honestly, the clock was my best friend. I woke up at 7, had a couple Cheerios because I felt more up for it, drank a whole hydro flask, and went to take on that wild midterm. I finished up, then studied for a seminar a couple hours after, napped for fifteen minutes (power naps <3), and then my last class! Oh yes! Sleep time has now begun.
I SURVIVED. ONLY DRINKING WATER EMERGEN-C AND TEA. IT’S POSSIBLE FOLKS. IT’S JUST REALLY HARD. BUT I BELIEVE ANYONE CAN DO IT.
So, my first time having midterms were rough, but I can say that they will probably never be worse. So, that’s fantastic. It only goes up from here! And for all of you who took midterms, CONGRATS! You’re done for a little! And you didn’t get the flu? What a steal! And if you did, WELL, YOU CAN’T GET IT AGAIN IF YOU’RE CAREFUL.
I hope everyone is having a lovely spring break and getting over midterm PTSD! Much love and enjoy the rest of break because BU is waiting!
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