As students are consumed with academics and extracurriculars, we sometimes forget the importance of taking care of ourselves. Although spring is slowly approaching, infections and illnesses such as the common cold, flu and strep throat are
still very contagious. Illness like these can spread by coming into contact with someone who’s infected or even through the air when one coughs. Getting sick can have a negative impact, not just on your body but also on your performance in school, sports, and extracurricular activities.

School nurse Julie Szymczak, states “the healthier you are, the less days of school you miss, the less you fall behind.”

The more you fall behind in school or activities, it becomes more difficult to catch up and it adds on to your stress. Adding on excessive stress also has a negative impact on your health.

Senior Emma Romanelie mentioned, “Yeah, I did get the flu a couple of weeks ago, and it was horrible. I felt sick for a week. It was hard to focus on school work

because of the headache I had, and because of that, I fell behind in school.”

Romanelie was out of school for four days and was stressing about the work she would have to make up when she got better. She forced herself to come back to school even though she wasn’t feeling well.

“When you’re stressed out, you usually don’t sleep well. In the aspect of students, if you are under stress it’s usually because you have tests or projects or papers due,“ Szymczak states.

Keeping up with your body and staying healthy may be difficult but that shouldn’t be an excuse. By incorporating small everyday habits such as making sure to eat something before coming
to school, washing your hands before you eat, improving your hand washing techniques, taking in vitamin C supplements to help boost your immune system, you can make a big difference in preventing getting sick.

“I hear a lot of times when students come in is ‘I didn’t eat breakfast, I ran out of time,’ but doing that is starving your body and that doesn’t do well when you’re sick. Do things like throwing a granola bar in your backpack and keeping one in there at all times,” Szymczak states.

Once you’ve incorporated those habits, it’s important to maintain them so you can continue to
stay healthy. As Mahatma Ghandi mentioned, “It is health that is the real wealth.” Although there’s no such thing as a person who is in perfect condition of health, it’s important to pay attention to your body and take care of yourself when needed. It’s ideal to prevent getting sick by taking precautions because your health must come first.