Picture this: You wake up, the sun shines through your blinds and you feel an unnerving sensation tingling in your nostrils. The worst possible feeling has descended upon you — a stuffy nose. As a student, being sick is one of the most irritating inconveniences to your day. It can start with a sniffle or a throat itch, and then BOOM! You’re on bed rest.
I remember that distinct feeling I got before I came down with a nasty cold. It started with a night out that ended in shivers after I had left my winter coat at home in hopes of ‘manifesting’ some good weather. Little did I know (or, in that case, little did I choose to acknowledge) just how cold it would end up being. I spent about a half-hour or so in the freezing cold.
When I returned to warmth, sniffles started accumulating, and little by little, the feverish chills I had put up with outside seemed to have stuck around for an after-party.
My friend recently got the flu and she said in order to bounce back quickly, she had to drown herself in DayQuil and NyQuil and “Benadryl [herself] to sleep.” When she said that, I thought of the sister, Margo (Carrie Coon), in the movie “Gone Girl” (2014), who says the same sentiment about trying to sleep knowing that her brother may have murdered his wife. Is catching an untimely cold during midterms a similar problem? Must we also Benadryl ourselves to sleep and risk not waking up for our 9 a.m. the next morning?
I chose to prioritize the healing process. Sure, you may have an attendance policy in your class that asserts that, without an excused absence, you could face a penalty for taking any time off. But come on! How can you expect to enjoy learning when you’re too busy holding in dry coughs and quietly sniffling to yourself so you don’t have to get up and blow your nose?
There’s something almost calming and nurturing about having a little cold during winter. Granted, the flu and COVID-19 are uniquely frustrating to recuperate from and endure, but a seasonal virus may find its way to you in the coldest days of February. When it does, I like to accept that my body needs some TLC. Drink a cup of hot green tea with honey and eat chicken noodle soup while watching “La La Land” (2016).
Maybe a side effect of living in a communal space is that you will inevitably catch some viral infection from someone else. I take some comfort in the fact that we all have to find ways to nurse ourselves back to vitality and regain energy. A cold or flu can disrupt our daily routines, but it also allows us to slow down and take care of ourselves. I’m trying to learn to take it!
