As I am writing this article, my neighbor is wheezing, my hallmate across from me is sniffling, the people down the hall have lost their voices, and I am utterly confused. September, which should have acted as a sort of grace period for adjustment and renewal, has become a cycle of endless homework and the early onset of campus sickness. It’s been just under 20 days of the 2025-2026 school year, and many of us are already drenched in germs and sickness. Around campus, I keep hearing the phrase “I’m tired,” and frankly, I agree wholeheartedly. So in these trying weeks, Andover students should act more deliberately to lift themselves up from the depths of illness.
As much as we deliberately try to be sanitary and clean in such a widely shared space, we are all undeniably exposed to each other in many different ways: whether it’s living in the same dorm, walking on the paths together, or having classes together. Andover as a community is much more vulnerable to diseases, with over 700 people and 200 faculty members living in such a closely-knit community. Our boarding lifestyle encompasses our identity as a school, but also serves as a reminder that we are vulnerable to outbreaks of sickness.
Rigor is the greatest enemy in the fight to get back our health as quickly as possible. Called “behavioral malaise,” one of the most common side effects of feeling sick or catching a cold, it can derail daily routines and, inevitably, academic performance. Therefore, accommodations must be accessible to all students, and students themselves must take advantage of their right to request changes to fit their needs. When sickness takes over the body, our body’s metabolism is on full alert and needs a greater amount of energy to fight off the disease. Spending more and more energy on academics while your energy levels are still low puts an additional strain on the body, which could worsen your condition. The cliched phrase “take care of yourself” should be enforced literally, not as “take care of yourself but also study for a test and two quizzes along with writing an essay and a first draft.” Students should not treat care as a task they can procrastinate on until the looming tests and assessments pass, but as a priority. Taking the time to feel better will minimize the amount of effort needed to make up all the work, as homework and comprehending material would be a lot easier with a fueled body and a brain that isn’t entirely concerned about fighting off an illness.
Now, of course, taking care of oneself should not include scrolling and watching YouTube for the entire day. Actual rest aims to readjust and strengthen the immune system through the simplest tasks, such as going on a walk or simply shutting down and going to sleep for eight to nine hours (a Saturday luxury for many Andover students). Students can also try remedies such as setting a towel with room temperature water which moistens the air in the room, helps clear mucus, soothes respiratory passages, and strengthens the body’s natural defenses. Apart from community-wide action, these small tweaks to living conditions may help nurse our community back to health.
Paradoxically, for a sickness most commonly spread by communication and interaction, the best way to combat it is through talking to each other and keeping each other aware. The cold or any type of abnormality is also related to a disruption in hormonal balance. Cortisol is a stress hormone that takes care of excessive inflammation in the body, but excessive amounts of it, which can be very common, can lead to anxiety, mood swings, and difficulties concentrating and memorizing important material. High cortisol may be another reason why effective studying may not be plausible with an energy-drained brain and body. On the other hand, social interactions, whether in person or virtual, can help stabilize these cortisol levels and release feel-good hormones such as dopamine, improving both mood and overall well-being itself. In fact, for more severe cases of illness, healthy social interactions have supported the lowering of mortality rates by 20 percent to 40 percent, so hanging out with a friend has real-life benefits to recovering quickly from illness.
A cold outbreak requires the entire community to work in unison to help each member get back on their feet. Our unique environment makes Andover more vulnerable than ever to things such as the common cold. Students must be aware of their rights to fit their schedule as necessary to their condition and severity, but must also take proper and effective steps to make themselves feel better as quickly as possible. Apart from the normal, “taking care of yourself,” calling a friend or moistening the air could combat the common cold from getting more severe, and letting go of the feeling of being even further behind will allow for a faster recovery and a stronger push forward. We’re sick, already. Let’s get over it, quickly, together.
