Plague Spreaders

This is my public service announcement.  It’s that time of year again: “Flu Season.” On behalf of your classmates and co-workers, if you get sick, STAY HOME! If you even think you have a cold, the flu, or any other brand of creeping crud, just go back to bed.  Do not come to work!  Do not go to the gym!  Drink your fluids, take your vitamin C, and get some rest!

Let’s talk about you for a just a moment.  I love you.  I really do.  I love your good health, your dedication to improving yourself, and every step of your personal journey to success.  However, I do not love your germs, and I especially do not love it when you share those germs with healthy people who are also actively on a journey to better health. Your intrepid visits to public places when you have the sniffles undermine everyone’s efforts to be healthier.  Many of us have this mentality that if you push harder, you will somehow function normally even when you’re sick.  I'm sorry my friends.  This is simply not true.  You do not function normally.  You do not think clearly.  You will cause your illness to last longer than if you had just allowed yourself time to heal in the first place, and by embracing this mentality, you become what I think of as a plague spreader.

If you try to sneak into my class or crawl into the back row sneezing and sniffling, I will send you home.  Do not misunderstand.  This is a loving act.  I am protecting my students from plague spreaders, but I am also giving you permission to take care of yourself! Sometimes what we really need the most is a few days to quietly rest and recover.  Love yourself enough to do this the moment you start to feel an illness coming on so you don’t end up wiped out for weeks to come.  The world will still be spinning once you get well.  Wishing you all the best of health!