It always begins innocently enough, with a few sniffles here and a small cough there, usually after laughing too much. 

“It’s okay.” you’ll say to your friends. “That was only one box of tissues that I went through, I have no idea where those other three empty containers came from! I’ll just sleep it off and be at the top of my game tomorrow.”

 The only thing? That almost never happens, and you’ll probably wake up even worse for wear, unable to stomach anything but Gatorade, and rocking a raging headache. It’s time to face facts: not only are you sick, but there is no way that you are going to leave your room anytime in the foreseeable future. 

Sure, having a day off from classes and work is never a bad thing, especially with midterms out of the way. But with only so many episodes of “Chopped” on Netflix, and all your healthy friends having fun in the spring weather, boredom and loneliness will quickly set in. Don’t let that keep you down though, even bedridden you don’t have to feel awful! Here’s some good advice on how to make the best out of your next sick day!

First off, you’ll need to fancy up your fort for the day. While the roommate-imposed quarantine of your bed means it isn’t the most desirable location, there certainly isn’t a reason for it to look as depressing as it does! Go ahead and pick up all the water bottles and Gatorade stocked up in your fridge, as well as a softer comfort food (graham crackers are a personal favorite) so they’ll be nearby for conveniences sake. 

Bring up a surge protector for convenience too, as it’ll be nice to have all your electronics charged and ready to go for a game or show binging session. A leftover shopping bag is also pretty nice to have on hand; not only does it function as a solid barf bag if you’re feeling REALLY bad, but it’s also a pretty good trash bag for your numerous tissues and plastic bottles.

Next up on the list is homework: don’t do it. Seriously, don’t even think about stressing any more over your schoolwork when either that or an all-nighter was probably the reason for you ending up like this in the first place. Granted, doing one or two small readings for a class or two isn’t bad, but toss everything else off to another day. You deserve to have a break from all the craziness of the school system for the day, whether your professor agrees with you or not. 

On the topic of professors though, don’t be afraid to send them an email that you’re going to be out for the day. Most of the time they will probably be pretty understanding and will take in any assignments or notes that need to be turned in that day by email too. And if they don’t, that probably means that they just aren’t that nice of a person, so having that class off for a day is probably more of a relief than anything.

So, by this point you are relatively stress free and fully supplied with all the essentials for a fun time in bed. However, much like Ariel in “The Little Mermaid,” your heart will eventually yearn to be a part of that outside world yet again, and that’s something no Google Streetview of campus can help with. Provided that your body chose a decent day to completely give out on you, pull up the blinds and crack open the window. Despite sounding a little silly, your physical health is absolutely tied to your emotions, so if you hold yourself up in your dimly lit and depressing room, it only makes sense why you would continue to feel crappy. 

While you might feel like a vampire in your bedridden state, the sun, or any light for that matter, will not cause you to turn into dust. Don’t be afraid to get out of the dark ages, your skin will thank you. Not to mention, just the sound of the occasional car driving by and nature doing its thing is some of the best background noise that one can have playing, and the best that you’ll get while you’re in the shape you are right now.

Being sick during school is never a fun thing to have happen, but you have to make the most of what life throws at you. So get yourself comfortable, take the appropriate amount of medicine, and enjoy it while you can since you don’t always get a legitimate excuse to skip class!