I’ve been sick again, and honestly, I have no idea what’s happening to me this week. First, I threw up at school and had to stay home. Now I’m sick all over again. I have a fever, my voice is extremely weak, and I feel like my entire body is slowly dying from the inside. I’m not exactly sure whether I have the flu or some other virus, but whatever it is, it definitely isn’t fun. There seem to be a lot of viruses going around these days, and I’ve even heard some pretty frightening news about diseases spreading in other countries. I have no idea whether those reports are actually true, but they don’t exactly make me feel any safer. Right now, I’m just exhausted.
One of the most disappointing things about today is that I was supposed to have a swimming competition, but obviously, I couldn’t go. I was supposed to swim the 400 IM, which is already exhausting enough when you’re perfectly healthy. For those who don’t know, the 400 IM consists of 100 butterfly, 100 backstroke, 100 breaststroke, and finally, 100 freestyle. That’s a lot to say, and trust me, it’s even more to swim. The worst part isn’t necessarily how tired your arms and legs get. It’s what happens to your lungs and throat. By the time you finish, everything feels completely dry, and your vocal cords seem to be secretly dying somewhere inside your body. It’s an extremely strange feeling, and definitely not a pleasant one.
But here’s something I’ve been wondering about. What happens if you swim a 400 IM when you’ve already lost your voice? Normally, after finishing the race, your vocal cords feel practically dead. But what if they’re already dead before you even start? What else are you going to lose? I honestly don’t want to find out. And considering how terrible I feel right now, swimming probably wouldn’t be the smartest decision anyway.
The funny thing is, being sick isn’t always the worst thing in the world. Sometimes, I actually kind of enjoy it. You get to miss school, people pay more attention to you, and you don’t have to worry about your usual responsibilities. You can relax, cut loose, and basically do whatever you want. At least, that’s what being sick sounds like when you’re healthy. Unfortunately, reality is a little different. When you’re actually sick, you don’t have enough energy to enjoy any of that freedom. Sure, I technically have permission to do almost nothing, but what’s the point when I don’t even feel like doing anything? I mean, I can’t exactly go bungee jumping while I’m sick. I wish I could, because that would definitely be one way to cut loose. Instead, my entire schedule consists of going to bed, waking up, eating something, coughing, taking cough drops, and then going back to bed. What an exciting life.
Speaking of eating, something extremely strange happened today. Ever since I got home from school, I’ve been craving a double cheeseburger. I have absolutely no idea why. Out of all the foods my body could possibly want while fighting a fever, it somehow decided that a burger was the answer. So I ended up getting Burger King. Was that the healthiest decision? Probably not. But hey, at least it had calories. Not gonna lie, getting that burger into my stomach wasn’t exactly easy. My appetite wasn’t normal, and I already felt pretty terrible. But somehow, I managed to finish it. And now, I’m completely burnt out. Seriously burnt out.
I think the strangest thing about being sick is how different it feels from what you imagine. When you’re healthy, staying home sounds like a wonderful opportunity to escape school, avoid responsibilities, and enjoy some freedom. But when you’re actually sick, you realize that freedom isn’t particularly useful when you don’t have the energy to enjoy it. You can technically do whatever you want, but the only things you really want to do are sleep, eat, and somehow stop coughing. I guess that’s the unfortunate reality of being sick. You finally get a break from everything, but you’re too exhausted to appreciate it.
Anyways, that’s pretty much been my day. I’m tired, my throat hurts, my voice is barely working, and I have absolutely no idea why my body has decided to make this week so miserable. Hopefully, I’ll feel better soon. For now, I think I’m just going to go back to bed.
Leave a Reply