Submission: Don’t leave your health behind in college

BY KATYA LAVINE

One month ago, I stood atop a platform high in the air, looking out at the treetops of Lake Arrowhead.

As I was taking in the beautiful scenery and reflecting on how blessed I was to have a summer job that had brought me here, I suddenly felt my heart begin to race. I decided to pass it off – maybe as a momentary fear of heights. But then I began to sweat, almost nonstop, and the treetops below me spun and blurred all at once. Panicked, I shut my eyes for a few seconds and then reopened them.

Everything was black.

I grabbed onto the pole and waited for my vision to come back, and when it did, I climbed to the ground. In the following days, I suffered headaches, fevers and exhaustion. I drove down the mountain to the doctor, who confirmed what I quietly feared was going on: I had mononucleosis. Again.

I was first diagnosed with mono last May. Essentially, when you get mono, and then push yourself too hard, you are not only at risk for a reactivation of the virus but a whole assortment of other problems. Mono is disgustingly persistent.

And thus, here I am, home in San Francisco. My reactivation of mono caused complications in my brain, sinuses and muscles. I have had to declare non-enrollment for fall quarter, postpone my dream internship and delay moving into my first apartment. What should have been the fall quarter of my senior year at UCLA is now a fall spent in my childhood bedroom taking courses online so I don’t fall behind.

This, my friends, is why I say the following: take care of yourself.

Whether you are suffering from physical illness, mental illness, distress, family and relationship issues – whatever it is – take time to heal yourself. Besides being surrounded by extreme academic and social pressure, we live in an environment that encourages sleepless nights, binge drinking, Adderall, caffeine abuse and other behaviors that can seriously worsen already present conditions. We are also faced with the very real fear that putting our health first will cause us to fall behind. We are told to “tough it out,” which works in some cases but is detrimental in others. We must be committed to our personal well-being. It took me months with a debilitating illness to realize that, but it shouldn’t have.

I know how easy it is to view sickness as a roadblock to success in college. When I had mono back in May, I took the highest dose of Tylenol just so I could physically walk to class. Then I drank coffee and Red Bull to beat the crippling fatigue that accompanies the virus. I continued to go to parties and stay up late because I was afraid that missing one night might mean I’d be missing the best night of my life. I refused to accept that I was sick.

All the while, I was setting myself up for failure. I was putting my ever-persistent fear of missing out first and my health second, unknowingly hurting myself the more I did it.

And this is not just the case with physical illness. How many people do you know with depression, anxiety, an eating disorder or a problem that warrants counseling – but won’t confront it?

It’s because we are told that college isn’t a time for those things. It’s a time to make friends, study hard, party and have fun. But we need to embrace the reality that the mental and physical illnesses we get in college can have repercussions – maybe not right now, but sooner than we think. It is inexplicably painful to put life on pause because of an illness. We are young, intelligent and ambitious, and we shouldn’t have to. I know there are certain things we cannot control, but there are so many that we can. Don’t make my mistake. If you know that rest, counseling or medicine will make a difference in your health, don’t put it off. I guarantee you won’t regret feeling better.

I wish with all my heart I could go back and redo it. Because now I am not just missing one class or one party, I am missing my last fall quarter at UCLA. And much more importantly, I’m missing precious time with my best friends, my sorority, my Student Alumni Association family and the many other incredible people at school. UCLA is paradise.

Take your health seriously. Don’t over-compromise your mental and physical well-being for anything. And enjoy yourself. Study hard, go to parties, stay up late – but do so while also being mindful of yourself, what your mind and body need. If you do this, you will have a more fantastic college experience than you ever thought possible. Be well, Bruins.

Lavine is a fourth-year English student.