A girl lies sick on on her bed as conflicting thoughts of school and rest surround her. Many students struggle with taking the time they need to rest when they’re sick due to a heavy workload. (Graphic Illustration by Maya Hernández)

On almost every door leading into Archer’s main building is a sign urging students to stay home if they are experiencing symptoms of a cold or illness. Yet, when it comes to actually following those regulations, some students find themselves disregarding them to keep up. The thought of missing a day of class and the subsequent work that will pile up can outweigh the illness’s symptoms, leading students to push past their bodies’ limits.

According to World Health.net, stigma around taking days off can create a dangerous environment where health becomes expendable. Not taking the appropriate time off to recover when sick can actually lead to worse illness later, the article reported. The stress that many students face from school, if chronic, decreases the body’s white blood cells that work to fight off infections. In other words, when students do get sick, their bodies are likely already too overworked to appropriately combat the virus.

Taking care of our bodies also means protecting students’ peers and teachers. Coming to school sick puts everyone around us at risk of getting sick as well. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it was never a question of staying home if we felt unwell, since the risk of spreading COVID to others was so high. The risk of contamination remains just as high, yet we’ve moved away from the norm of considering others’ health too.

As reported by American River Health, resting our minds saves energy that our bodies can use to more effectively fight off the illness. If we do decide to stay home from school and recover, however, we are also faced with the battle of deciding whether to rest or complete the work we are missing. Trying to teach ourselves a new math concept or work on an English essay is hardly resting our bodies and minds, but not doing that work puts us at risk of being behind once we do return to school. Additionally, some students don’t even have the option to stay home from school when they are very sick because their parents have to work.

In the political landscape of President Trump’s second term, taking responsibility for our own health has become even more urgent. The appointment of vaccine critic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to the role of Health Secretary has proved detrimental to the furthering of healthcare and vaccine research. In early August, Kennedy Jr. vowed to cancel more than $500 million of funding to 22 pharmaceutical companies developing vaccines against bird flu, COVID-19 and other diseases. How should we be expected to take our own health seriously when our own government officials cannot be trusted to keep us healthy.

It can be hard to prioritize ourselves when all the tests and assignments we have to prepare for are flooding our minds. Missing school means having to reschedule every missed task and add to our already busy schedules. As students at an academically rigorous school, it is imperative to remember that, despite high expectations, school should never come before our physical health. To change the unhealthy mindset that many of us may have, it is essential to prioritize our bodies. This raises the question: How do we create a culture where students prioritize their health and allow themselves to take the appropriate time off when sick?

To foster a healthier culture around sick days, we have to lead by example and take the appropriate time off to care for ourselves. As a result, our friends and peers will likely begin to do the same if they are to fall ill in the future. Remember: teachers will never penalize us for being sick, and together we can create a plan to make up any assignments missed and ensure we don’t feel behind in class. Don’t be afraid to communicate clearly to teachers when we are sick that we will be taking time to rest.

Our bodies will thank us by recovering much faster than if we push through the sickness. Taking the time we need, in addition to proper rest, nutrition and hydration, will give us all the more energy to do our best once we return to campus.