No Rest for the Wicked

My parents instilled in me, at a young age, that participation in school or work was critically tied to being successful in that class or career. I hence became that guy that attended every class and even accepted (for a time) the unspoken "norm" of going into work while sick, at my previous place of employment. It was never outright stated that it was expected of us, but simply by example (which usually just got the rest of us sick like dogs) and the response intonations when we called/emailed in sick.

Boss cat makes it funny but it wasn't funny :(

I have since changed that perspective and no longer put someone else's expectations over my own needs--especially if they were not in my best interest. After all, nobody's gonna care about you more, than you. Not because they're bad people, but because they don't see it from your perspective and they're thinking from a economic standpoint.

Semesters are actually quite short; you get 4 months to fit in an exam schedule, 3 weeks of exams and midterms, assignments, papers, labs and the lectures themselves. Trust me, this is an awful way to learn but it's the only way available at the moment. That said, I was determined not to fall ill for any reason and got the flu short--something I have never done because I'm not a firm believer in the flu shot (not because vaccines don't work--they do work. It's just this thing about strains... a conversation for another time). Getting sick was something I was working at avoiding... like the plague (har har! see what I did there?).

The semester is coming to a close and I'm still behind on some lectures because I just haven't found the time to get to it. But, I was getting progressively sicker and sicker last week and I surrendered by Wednesday afternoon and booked an appointment with my physician to see her on Thursday. I didn't actually think it was going to be all that involved... a quick in and out appointment, deal with the infection and I"d be back on my way to classes on Friday. I was wrong.

Strong like bull... until I get sick

I underestimated the severity and ended up at home lying around trying to not aggravate the infection and what a colossal waste of time that was! I intended to catch up on lectures and notes and start my exam studying but none of that happened because I just couldn't physically manage it. So now, I'm scrambling to catch up, understand the new stuff while I still don't understand the old stuff, sort myself out enough to pose questions in class (#stillwaiting) and find time to see the profs during office hours.

But, that's the thing about adulting life, isn't it? You spend all your time trying to stay afloat and work like an ox to get yourself some chill time only to be knocked out by a virus/bacterial infection when you least expect (or need) it but you can submit to the poopiness or you can suck it up princess and get 'er done.