This past week, the inevitable happened: I was hit with the Kenyon Krud, the unavoidable, terrible cold that tends to get everyone at least once throughout the school year.
I have been sick plenty of times in the past. I know that it is best to rest, eat soup, take medicine, and eventually, I will get better. However, this time when I was sick, it was different than any other time I have been sick in the past; for the first time, I was sick away from home. With how often I get sick, you would think that this could not be possible, but it just worked out that the few times I was sick this year, before this past week, it was during school breaks.
I’m not going to lie, it was rough. Laying in bed sick without my mom there to take care of me was a new and strange experience. She was not there to take my temperature or bring me water or make me a doctor’s appointment. She couldn’t write me a note to get out of class or sit with me and watch Disney movies while I sniffle away. And while I really missed her, especially on the days when my fever just would not break and I was a hallucinatory mess, I think this was a really good experience for me.
I got out of bed and got my own water, I called the Health Center to make my own appointment, I emailed my professors when I missed class and got notes from classmates, I rested and binge-watched Parks and Recreation, and I did it alone. It was my responsibility to make sure I got better and no one else’s.
Of course, my wonderful friends brought me food and kept me company when I needed it, but the person who I usually spend the most time with when I’m sick was two-thousand miles away. I think my mom might have felt worse about it than I did, especially since there was nothing she could do for me from California. But I hope that, throughout the week, my updates assuring her that I was taking care of myself made her feel at least a little bit better.
This was the first time I have been sick while I have been away from my parents, but I highly doubt it will be the last. It is also one of the first times I have had no choice but to fully take on adult responsibilities, the first time the only person who could take care of me was me. I couldn’t call my mom and ask her to fly two-thousand miles across the country. It’s not that I have not had to take on responsibilities in the past or that have always required help to complete tasks or get through tough situations, but it has been nice to have that support available when I have needed it, and I appreciate that I have had the chance to see that I can take care of myself without my safety blanket.