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A GIF Story: 10 Reasons Being Sick in College is the Worst

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at U Mass Amherst chapter.

With the never-ending winter we experience as New England college students, flu season is a very real thing. Not much is worse than waking up and realizing you are sick, except for maybe the realizing you have to be an adult about it. Here are ten reasons why being sick in college is probably the worst thing ever.

1. Buying Your Own Cough Drops, Soups, Medicine, etc. And replenishing the resources once you use them all up.

2. Communal Bathrooms: It isn’t fun to share a bathroom with anyone when you are sick.

3. Being Quarantined From All Your Friends: In the fear of them getting sick, your friends avoid you like the plague that you contracted. Don’t take it personally, it’s self-preservation.

4. Being Paranoid About Germs for the Rest of the Semester: Now you have the pleasure of being paranoid about not getting sick again and avoiding any and all sources of germs for the rest of eternity! Grab some hand sanitizer and a long stick.

5. Noisy Dorms / Apartments: The incessant noise from your roommates in your dorm or apartment will definitely hinder your ability to get a good day’s rest.

6. Taking a sick day is necessary sometimes.

The down side is realizing all the make-up work that you will have when you re-enter your normal life.

7. Looking terrible and not caring whatsoever is a key part of being sick. You typically look how you feel. Don’t worry, everyone gets a free pass on this one when they’re ill.

8. Making the trek to University Health Services when you’re weak, frail and dizzy is always fun! And why is it soooooo far away!? Prepare for the longest and most unstable walk of your life (or close to it).

9. …aaaaand prepare for the longest wait of your life once at University Health Services. Once you finish the millions of pages of paperwork, you can relax in the waiting room for approximately 2,000 years.

“The Doctor Will See You Now”

10. Not having your parents to take care of you is by far the worst thing about being sick at school. Expect spiraling thoughts of adulthood and the terrifying prospect that you now need to take care of yourself.

You will get better though! And you will be back to your normal self. Yes being sick in college is terrible, but you will be back to your old self in no time!

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Becky Jackson

U Mass Amherst

Becky Jackson is an Environmental Science major minoring in education at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her favorite activities include being outdoors, hiking, hanging out on her farm at home, going to the beach,chilling by wood stoves in her jammies and working out. Her other passions include social justice and education, and she hopes to one day become a High School science teacher. She loves to laugh and sing occasionally whilst playing the guitar rather poorly. Writing is a big passion of hers and she is so excited to be controbuting to Her Campus UMass Chapter!
Contributors from the University of Massachusetts Amherst