Pushing Through Illness

Attending class is something that is very important to the faculty of Dominion, especially when concerning your eligibility for early release during senior year. Though the strict policy on how many days that you can miss often leads to students coming to school even though they are sick and should under no circumstances be around other students.

Recently I came down with what I thought was a cold; choosing to ignore it I continued to go about my normal activities, which includes going to school and working nearly every day. I was determined not to miss a day of school because my goal was to have early release from Titan Time my senior year. In order to acquire Titan Time early release, you can miss no more than eight days during your junior year.

I continued to push myself to be at school regardless of the fact that I felt absolutely terrible. I finally gave in and decided to go to the doctor, finding out that I had pneumonia and I would need to rest unless I wanted to end up in the hospital. Due to overworking myself so much and not staying home when my sickness was at its early stages, I ended up having to miss seven days of school.

Missing that amount of school in a row is something that I never imagined doing, especially as a junior. The rigor of classes this year is stressful even when being at school. Missing multiple classes in a row took that stress to a whole other level. While trying to catch up in my classes as quickly as possible, I wish that I had just taken a day or two off a couple weeks ago instead of letting my illness escalate to what it became.

While I understand that Dominion values the importance of attending class, they should emphasize that if students are sick they need to stay home and rest. Faculty should stress that students health must come before their grades and be more understanding when it comes to the senior early release policy. If I had been missing school just because I did not feel like going, not receiving senior Titan Time opt-out would make sense. Although I missed school once this year for a college visit and a total of eight days due to being sick, I do not think I should be penalized for that when it comes to the administrators decision over whether or not I should receive early release.  

As winter is approaching and the weather is constantly changing, illnesses are circulating around the school. Students need to be aware that if they are getting sick, they need to stay home and rest rather than getting other people sick and becoming worse themselves.