(December 17, 2004) — Ailing, and in a deeply tired state, I decided to skip school. Four tests and two projects spread over the course of three days had finally taken the toll on my frail body, and fatigue set in. In true motherly fashion, my mom immediately scheduled a doctor’s appointment, and off I went for a blood test. A few weeks later, the test results arrived. I apparently had mono, in laymen’s terms “kissing disease,” and in medical terms Infectious Mononucleosis. Was I dying? No, not really. So the real question is, whom had I been kissing? No one, but it seems as if I had shared a soda with an infected person. According to Judith Levine Willis of the Food and Drug Administration, mono is an illness that typically travels through saliva and affects people between 10 and 35 years of age, but normally only arises in teens 15-17. In spite of this fact, most have no reason to worry as it only strikes two out of every thousand teens. Amazingly—and fortunately for myself—I only had the most minor of symptoms: fatigue and loss of appetite. My physician, Dr. Najma Shamas said, “Others who have it commonly feature more harsh symptoms such as high fever, white areas in the back of the throat. In more extreme cases patients can get tonsillitis, severe sensitivity to light and spleen enlargement.” Of course, once I told my mom of these symptoms that I obviously had not experienced for the two months when the mono was active and probably would never experience in my life, her maternal instincts acted up and she proceeded to read up on cures and remedies. Though mono itself is with you for life, the symptoms can be eased. “For fever and achiness,” according to Willis, “you can take acetaminophen or ibuprofen and you should not lift heavy objects or exercise too vigorously.” Bed rest and fluids, however, are the most important form of treatment for less severe cases of mono. Physical ailment is not the only form of distress, however. Emotional symptoms such as loneliness tend to strike significantly harder in teens that normally endure such feelings. Regardless, all people who get the illness need to remember the fact that they will indeed get over it. I sure did. And on a side note, I no longer share drinks with anyone.