Fall and winter are my favorite seasons. Call me a grandma, but when the air gets chillier, I feel happier. Between hot tea, cozy sweaters and the best holidays of the year during these months, I love almost everything cold weather has to bring. Well, except how many colds I contract during these months; and how many of my friends and classmates seem to be falling under the cooler season’s sickly spell.
None of us can help existing in a constant state of under the weather. With more than 29,000 undergraduate students at UNC, it seems like if one person gets sick, all of us get sick. Call it what you want: The plague, the common cold, the UNC sniffles, but no matter what you have, it can feel debilitating.
Most of us can suffer through a couple days of incessant sneezes, endless tissues and the inability to hold down anything but chicken noodle soup. However, for those of us with weaker immune systems — including myself — a day or so of recovery is needed.
For someone like me — a self-diagnosed hypochondriac — when I hear someone in class with a deep cough, I immediately cringe. It sounds melodramatic, but it boils down to concern for that person’s health. Sometimes, we just don’t notice when a cough turns into something more serious.
It’s important to be proactive, especially when we’re heading into the colder months. While pumpkin spice lattes and hay rides might be hallmark autumn traditions, one more should be added to the list: Flu shots.
I know shots are a tempestuous subject for most, but no matter what you believe, getting your flu shot is so important. While you might have a resilient immune system, it’s important to think of classmates who don’t. There are so many students at UNC with invisible illnesses that you would never know about unless they told you.
Don’t be that person who comes to class and is the cause for a minor flu apocalypse (we’ve all seen “The Walking Dead”). Not to mention, getting the flu isn’t fun. Even with my poor track record filled with instances of the common cold, I’ve only had the flu two or three times. However, those few times made me never want to have it again.
Missing class might sound like a dream, but having the flu is a nightmare. Do yourself the smallest of favors and get a flu shot before the newest strain of it starts to rage at UNC. Campus Health Services provides walk-in hours every weekday, and most pharmacy offers walk-in hours as well.
Think of it this way: A flu shot now could guarantee you won’t miss out on all the autumnal activities your friends are planning to do this year. There are so many excuses you could make not to get the vaccine, but at the end of the day, it’d be better to not lose a week of your life feeling awful than it would be to lose an hour to soreness in your arm.
