Spring Break
Column: Tales of the sickly
Don't be sneezin' all up in my space, bro
Lindsay Lorenz
Issue date: 3/26/09 Section: Editorial/Opinion
03/26/09 - After bragging about my ever-unfailing health, it's finally caught up with me. I sailed through the first semester of this year with no ailments worse than a migraine, and I made it nearly halfway through this one until my immune system could no longer put up the fight.
Midway through my Spring Break, my throat began to feel scratchy and I became congested. I was becoming the sick person.
Now that I'm back on campus, I must confess: if there's one thing I can't stand, it's the annoying sick person in a class or living arrangement.
You see, I can put years of observation behind this theory. As a rarely ill person, it never fails that there's always someone with an uncontrollable cough sitting near you during an exam. You'll be exhausted from studying, just trying to concentrate, only to have your thought process interrupted by Hacking Sally in the row behind you, who sounds like she is possibly coughing up a lung.
Roommates are even worse. In every residence hall you'll find some guy that doesn't believe in tissues, but instead prefers to suck every drip of mucus back up into his nasal cavity, leaving everyone in earshot cringing. This activity is likely to occur repeatedly.
Then there's the issue of hand washing. What gives me the heeby jeebies more than anything is watching someone who is visibly sick use a light switch or keyboard with their dirty, germ-infested hands, leaving everyone else vulnerable to their illnesses.
While I don't doubt that there are people out there who are just inconsiderate, I think a lot of sick people just don't realize how annoying their colds can be to others nearby.
Busy schedules and heavy workloads can take a toll on one's health after a while. When sickness sets in, some people are probably too overwhelmed to make time for getting better.
In reality, going to Health Services and picking up some cough drops takes minutes, and will make you and those around you feel much better.
The other lot of people probably fall into the helpless category. They feel like they're sick and others should sympathize rather than complain about their noisy nose-blowing.
I can understand that. Most people, when sick, just want to be taken care of. The issue for these people, however, is that they don't know how to take care of themselves. They don't know the healing powers of chicken noodle soup or the wonders a daily glass of orange can work.
So, if I have any wisdom to impart, it's to be considerate those around you.
Midway through my Spring Break, my throat began to feel scratchy and I became congested. I was becoming the sick person.
Now that I'm back on campus, I must confess: if there's one thing I can't stand, it's the annoying sick person in a class or living arrangement.
You see, I can put years of observation behind this theory. As a rarely ill person, it never fails that there's always someone with an uncontrollable cough sitting near you during an exam. You'll be exhausted from studying, just trying to concentrate, only to have your thought process interrupted by Hacking Sally in the row behind you, who sounds like she is possibly coughing up a lung.
Roommates are even worse. In every residence hall you'll find some guy that doesn't believe in tissues, but instead prefers to suck every drip of mucus back up into his nasal cavity, leaving everyone in earshot cringing. This activity is likely to occur repeatedly.
Then there's the issue of hand washing. What gives me the heeby jeebies more than anything is watching someone who is visibly sick use a light switch or keyboard with their dirty, germ-infested hands, leaving everyone else vulnerable to their illnesses.
While I don't doubt that there are people out there who are just inconsiderate, I think a lot of sick people just don't realize how annoying their colds can be to others nearby.
Busy schedules and heavy workloads can take a toll on one's health after a while. When sickness sets in, some people are probably too overwhelmed to make time for getting better.
In reality, going to Health Services and picking up some cough drops takes minutes, and will make you and those around you feel much better.
The other lot of people probably fall into the helpless category. They feel like they're sick and others should sympathize rather than complain about their noisy nose-blowing.
I can understand that. Most people, when sick, just want to be taken care of. The issue for these people, however, is that they don't know how to take care of themselves. They don't know the healing powers of chicken noodle soup or the wonders a daily glass of orange can work.
So, if I have any wisdom to impart, it's to be considerate those around you.
