People are sick; wash your hands
It’s November. Fall is in the air but, sadly, so is the flu. People are getting sick and, on a school campus especially, that means that everyone seems to have something.
With H1N1 being the big scare, surely there’s something we can do to prevent it, right? In my perfect world, I would tell you all that salvation is nigh. We shall all be saved from this virus and no one else would get sick. But, seeing as I don’t play God here, this isn’t the case.
This archived article was written by: Mae Goss
It’s November. Fall is in the air but, sadly, so is the flu. People are getting sick and, on a school campus especially, that means that everyone seems to have something.
With H1N1 being the big scare, surely there’s something we can do to prevent it, right? In my perfect world, I would tell you all that salvation is nigh. We shall all be saved from this virus and no one else would get sick. But, seeing as I don’t play God here, this isn’t the case.
People have died from this virus and from the side effects, it’s true. But, does that necessarily mean that we should quarantine those who have this sickness? I don’t think so. But why should you care about what I think? I don’t know but obviously you do because you’re reading it.
I agree that something should be done, that people should be cleaner and more health conscious. But, why is it that it takes something awful to make us realize that we are unhealthy?
What can be done then? Well, it’s funny you should ask. When it finally got to me that everyone was getting sick, I wanted to protect myself, especially after my roommate got sick. I went to the clinic, got a sanitary mask and took action; which was the equivalent of staying in my room as much as possible and becoming a hermit.
It was in that time when the virus literally hit me. In my panic to prevent what I feared, Darwin came and bit me in the butt. I got sick. For quite some time, I was bitter about it. But then it dawned on me that I no longer had to worry about becoming ill. I’d already acquired it.
This was a good realization. I was so stuck on not getting sick that it happened. I’m almost positive that, if I hadn’t made such a big deal about it, nothing would have happened.
So, do I think about things differently still? The truth is, yes. I wash my hands in a public restroom and open the door with the paper towel I used to dry my hands. I have hand sanitizer all around me. I cover my mouth when I cough more than before.
But not everyone is like me. I’m not saying that I’m golden or anything, but there certainly is a change. If these things had been done before, then there wouldn’t have been such a scare.
Now, I’m not saying you should all go out and get together with your sick friends just so you have this new immunity to it. No. That would be quite silly of you. But do take precautions.
Wash your hands, people; don’t be nasty. Cover your mouth when you cough. But don’t go completely crazy, clean freak-like. That also is silly. You need to build up your immunities. Creating an environment, clean and free of toxins that can help your immune system just opens the door for all those germs awaiting you outside of your dorm.
Why listen to me, though? Well, apparently you still are so take it for what it is to you and find out your own what you should do. Be smart, wash your hands and don’t go crazy.
