I have become guilty of being the stereotypical college student who believes that she’s invincible and her health will never get in the way of anything. This past week, I learned the hard way that what I believed was completely false. My world felt like it had been flipped entirely upside down. My weekend had been off to a great start - I celebrated my 20th birthday with a fun brunch with my best friend in Park City, UT during Sundance and went to a nice dinner with my boyfriend to put an end to an amazing day. When we got back to my apartment that night, I started to feel the chills coming on so I took my temperature. 99.4 - not bad, but higher than I normally am. I shook it off and went to bed without worrying too much.
Fast forward to the next morning, I woke up with full body aches and chills, and the worst migraine I had ever experienced. My fever had spiked over 101 degrees and I had no idea what was coming over me, hoping it was just a bad cold or a case of the flu. The day went on and I was trying everything from Tylenol to Oscillococcinum. Nothing was working. The symptoms kept getting worse and worse and finally one thought popped into my head - my boyfriend had been having similar symptoms before he was diagnosed with mono. The following day, I was having all of the same symptoms, but only stronger. Once my fever reached up to 103 degrees, my boyfriend decided to take me to the emergency room to get checked out. Just by gathering information, they didn’t need to take any tests. They were positive I had mono, so there was nothing they could do except tell me to keep taking Tylenol and to alternate with ibuprofen. I went home feeling relieved that they didn’t have to run any blood tests with my fear of needles, but I was upset that they couldn’t do anything to get my fevers down after being there for hours. I know mono may not sound like a big deal for some, however the symptoms are different in everyone. The next few days, my fevers were not going down and I was convinced I was dying, but I was terrified because I knew that doctors couldn’t do anything to help the symptoms of mono. My fevers weren’t going down, my migraine wouldn’t go away for four days, and I had actually thrown up for the first time in 10 years. I felt so out of control of my body and my health for the first time and I genuinely thought that this might have been what killed me.
Thankfully a few more days went by and the symptoms started to show less and less. Here we are on day 7 and I’m finally beginning to feel back to my normal self. I know now that I am NOT completely healed. My health is fragile - everyone’s is. This past week has taught me how important it is to take care of our bodies and to treat them like they are our whole world, because in reality, they are! People tend to focus on the material things in life being their whole world, but we wouldn’t be able to have those things without our bodies!
To keep my body healthy, I have cut out gluten, increased the amount of veggies I’m eating, and am only eating lean meats. I have also reduced my dairy intake, and began substituting olive oil with avocado oil. Even though I still got as sick as I did after making these changes, I have felt much cleaner on the inside and my diet has even boosted my overall mood. If I were still eating the way I used to, I think it would have taken me much longer to feel better again.
Putting in just a little bit of time and effort to change your diet and prep your meals for the weak goes a long way when it comes to taking care of your body! One of my favorite resources to use to prep my meals is collegenutritionist.com! She offers awesome meal prep tips as well as recipes and shopping lists. College Nutritionist is honestly one of the main reasons I didn’t gain the “Freshman 15” last year. Everything she posts is super affordable on a college budget and is made to fulfill your college cravings. I also love using recipes from the food blog A Simple Palate - I especially love their Zucchini Lasagna!
Of course, food isn’t the only way to take care of your body. Even though alcohol is a huge part of college culture, cutting down on your intake can make a huge impact on your body. In case you might not know, when alcohol metabolizes through our system, it becomes toxic! This is why we get hangovers! It’s not because of how tired we are or because of the amount of sugar we have taken in, although those do play a role, but it is mainly because alcohol is actually toxic once we take it in. Now, I am not saying that you have to cut out alcohol entirely to be healthy, however you don’t need to be binge drinking every weekend! A few drinks is always okay, but just try not to overdo it. Make sure you are taking a break to recover every other weekend or so - there is a reason that some frats don’t throw parties every weekend. If you do decide to go all out because, let’s admit it, you do deserve it sometimes, just make sure to spend the next weekend with some good old rest and relaxation!
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AUTHORCamille Baron is a 20 year old attending the University of Utah and is in her third year as a Strategic Communications major. She strives to educate college women like herself to achieve their full potential in all aspects of life. ARCHIVES
July 2020
CATEGORIESAll Business And Professional College Culture Education Health And Wellness Self Care Travel |