Student Blogs

Of Sharp, Pointy Objects

October 6th, 2009 blramo12

I am terrified of needles. Sharp, pointy objects that inject things into your bloodstream make my insides writhe with terror and disgust. I had gone home this past weekend to get my flu shot with my younger brothers at our doctor’s office, where I technically am not allowed to look afraid. Seeing small children terrified of getting their flu shot somehow pushes me into the direction of confidence where I give them an “it’s going to be okay” smile in passing. Unfortunately, the flu clinic was canceled, thus I had to go get my flu shot here, where trying to be reassuring to freshmen isn’t quite the same as being reassuring to a five year old.

The wait was long, but probably shorter for me than others, because I got there ten minutes early. For the thirty-two excruciating minutesI stood in line, I panicked about the shot. I ran into Heidi on the stairs on my way to Hogan, and she tried to persuade me against getting the shot at all. I considered the thought for a good second or so, then in a Star Wars like fashion, the voices of my parents echoed in my head and the brilliant idea of not getting jabbed was lost forever.

When it was my turn to get the shot the nurse looked at me and told me I looked unhappy and nervous. I told her that I usually did. Her response was “Around needles, or in general?”

Suffice it to say, I didn’t understand her question at first, so while I answered that I was only nervous and awkward around needles, I can’t help but wonder if perhaps the proper answer would have been “all the time.”

But beyond this, my public service announcement is: get vaccinated, wash your hands (Health Services actually sent out an email awhile back linking to a YouTube video on how to properly wash your hands, here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BI0dn–vv0w), cover your mouth when coughing, and for goodness’ sake, try and stay healthy!

See you next time!

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