I just need to make up the notes that I missed on Thursday. I can do that—after my lacrosse practice. 

Never mind, I have to work on my project that I missed on Friday. Well, after I sleep. Do I even have time to sleep? 

Wait, I missed a test on Friday too. Can I make that up during my lunch? No, not enough time. 

As I sit with my stuffy nose, I contemplate why missing two days of school has created an overwhelming pile of work for me. It feels like when I stay home from school to recover from sicknesses, I can’t get a break from schoolwork. 

Just last year, this problem was amplified for me when I came down with Mononucleosis, commonly known as “Mono”. I have persevered through illnesses before and attended school, but I never had faced a viral infection like Mono that left me with a never-ending fever, puffy eyes, and body aches.

All I wanted to do was stay home and rest, yet there was one thing keeping me from doing just that: stress. I couldn’t miss the content from my classes, but I couldn’t get better while I was going to school for the content. When I did miss school, my work piled up: math worksheets with equations I didn’t even recognize, missing history quizzes accumulating in the Test Center, and AP tests left unstudied for. 

This is, unfortunately, not an uncommon dilemma that students face. As grades become more important in high school, many parents also include academic considerations in their sick day decision, according to the 2024 Ann Arbor Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health in. Nearly two-thirds of parents polled said their child worries about an absence’s negative impact on grades, social life, or extracirriculars. There are several reasons why this is problematic. First, the combination of an illness and added stress from missing school does not set students up for success—it is simply unhealthy. Stress alters immune functions and response to infections and diseases, according to the National Library of Medicine. 

I contracted Mono during the second semester of my junior year. It was difficult for me to get adequate sleep and rest time while trying to balance all my classes, sports, and extracurricular activities. My anxiety surrounding my absence disrupted my ability to sleep and perform well in all of these realms.

Not only does coming to school while ill impact the sick student, like me, but also their peers. It is recommended to stay home when sick to lower the risk of spreading infections, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This recommendation, however, is not always followed. Furthermore, when a student feels obligated to come to school in fear of missing important work, they are now putting their peers at risk of contracting their illness. 

When missing school while sick competes with grades it can be hard to know whether to focus on healing or homework. I learned from my experience with Mono to prioritize rest rather than exhausting myself by pushing through school work or overextending myself by socializing when I should be taking care of my body.