Remember the days back in high school when you would feel a little sick and beg your parents to let you stay home? Sure, you would have some makeup work when you came back, but it wasn’t anything you couldn’t handle. However, at college, it’s a whole new ball game…103 degree fever? Guess who is taking that exam anyway…Puking in your sink from food poisoning? Guess who still has to go give that speech in a few hours…Missed a few days of classes? Guess who missed an entire unit in each class…Need to go to the doctor? Guess who has to walk across the length of campus in the winter weather to get there. There’s no sugar coating it, being sick in college sucks. Long gone are the days when your mom would make you soup and bring it to you while you just lounged in bed re-watching Friends. Here are a few tips to help you (and your GPA) survive that Hokie Plague:
1. Communication
The second you realize that you are too sick to attend class, email your professor! By keeping your professor in the loop, especially with conditions that are more complex than a simple case of the flu, it makes them more likely to work with you while you grapple with the difficulties of being behind. Also, be familiar with each class’ policy regarding absences due to illness, each professor is different. But remember: never take advantage of your professors’ kindness. When you lie about being sick to them, you make it harder for them to be merciful to the truly sick students in the future. You are paying for an educational opportunity that many are unable to have—don’t waste it!
2. Take Care of Yourself
It can be tempting to be in denial and push yourself when you start feeling sick. There is always so much to be done and often so little time to do it! However, when you’re sick is no time to pull all-nighters or put yourself under any unnecessary stress. Work in small doses, with plenty of naps and rest. If you try to push yourself, then you may end up making yourself even sicker and be unable to complete all of the work that you need to! It’s a marathon not a sprint.
3. Go to the Doctor
It’s vital to have doctor documentation that you are, in fact, sick. It’s annoying when you’re sick to drag your butt out of bed to trudge across a large campus in the harsh winter just to go to a doctor’s office, where you will probably catch yet another illness, all just to get a slip of paper to keep your professors happy. But, without that square piece of paper, your professors aren’t going to care that you are delirious with fever in a dorm room and your grades will suffer for it.
4. Be Mindful of Others
Going to class sick? Have roommates? Cover your cough, don’t touch ANYTHING that you don’t have to, sanitize, sanitize and SANITIZE. Misery might love company, but on behalf of everyone, please be lonely! If you don’t absolutely have to go somewhere, reduce the number of people you expose to your germs by just staying home. Sometimes you have to go to class or share a dorm-room with someone, so it’s impossible to completely isolate yourself and your germs, but make sure you take steps to prevent contaminating others.
Also, be sure to thank everyone that helps you while you’re sick. When I was sick, I had friends that brought me chicken noodle soup from ABP and my roommate would get me water when I would have episodes of coughing in the middle of the night. Their acts of compassion helped me more than they realized. Show your gratitude when you’re sick and remember their kindness when others are sick and you have the opportunity to be the one to help!
5. Don’t Procrastinate
We are college students, procrastination is what we do best. However, especially this time of year, you never know when you could get sick. Go ahead and write that paper when it’s assigned! When you’re sick, the last thing you want to do is be hunched over a laptop with desk littered with coffee cups and red bull cans trying to put a sheen of intelligence on your feverish ramblings in answer to your professor’s existential essay question. By getting your work done ahead of time, when Hokie Plague strikes, you can crawl in bed with a bowl of ramen and the only question you’ll have to answer is “are you still watching?” on Netflix.
Stay healthy Hokies!