The world moves so fast that it can be hard to take a break, even if it’s only for a minute. This weekend, I got lost in the shuffle. Life seemed to scurry past me, like the occasional New York rat that makes its way onto Hoboken territory.
A few days ago, I caught what was either the flu or the worst cold I had ever had in my life. I had a sore throat, runny nose, and cough—the whole shebang. And no, it was not COVID. I spent the weekend laying in bed, drifting between sleep and staring at the ceiling. I even felt too sick to watch anything on Netflix, which is hard to believe.
Anyway, I did not do any homework, studying, or anything productive because I was clearly not up for tasks that required more than simply existing. Once Monday rolled around, I was hit with the harsh reality that the school week was starting, and I was already behind on the work that should have been done over the weekend.
Instead of easing back into classes with a few hours at a desk and some homework, I had to rapidly attempt to complete days of work in between naps, which were the only things getting me through the day. This sounds completely overdramatic, but ask anyone who has been sick at college, and this is the reality.
In addition to the academic stress, this was my first time being away from home while being sick with something worse than a 24-hour cold. It made me realize just how much I rely on my family when feeling under the weather. I am lucky enough to have parents who are there for me when I’m sick and can help with things that are just too much work when I don’t feel well enough to get out of bed. This weekend, I dreamed about homemade soup from my grandma. Can you believe no restaurants on Washington street make vegetarian noodle soup? At least, none that I could find on GrubHub. Even if I could find it somewhere, I am sure it wouldn’t have tasted as delicious.
Being forced to be independent while being sick made me realize how harsh reality can be. Although the weekend is supposed to be a break, it ends up filled with schoolwork and other tasks that were put on the back burner throughout the week. It is nearly impossible to truly step away from everything for more than a few hours, and if you do manage to sneak away, it typically results in a buildup of work that just needs to be rushed through at a later date.
Unfortunately, there is not much I can do with this information. I guess one step would be to freeze some of my Grandma’s soup and store it in my dorm room freezer next year. Other than that, I can’t exactly single-handedly change the ancient structure that makes our society move at a sickeningly fast pace. For now, I will just try to catch up on my work and drown myself in vitamin C with the hope that I don’t get sick at college ever again.
Mind of a Freshman is an Opinion column written by one or two first-year Stevens students to discuss life experiences during their time at Stevens, and other related subject matter.
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