We get by with a little help from our friends

Charmaine Chiu
Aug 24, 2017 · 4 min read

I’ve been sick these past three days.

First, it began in my throat, and then I began to feel congested. On top of that, I’ve developed a perpetual headache that feels like a dense fog has descended over the top half of my head, a tummy pain that feels like storms are raging in my intestines, and a dizziness that makes me feel like this:

It’s when I’m sick that I miss being home with my family the most, where I can be just be a child and my parents would take care of me. This past winter, I fell sick while on a ski trip with my family — and my mum brought me tea, a hot water bag for my tummy, and tucked me into bed. In spite of my pain, it felt like bliss to be comforted and cared for.

Now that I’m an adult, properly living on my own and 6,897 miles away from my family, I’m missing my mum more than ever… but part of growing up and becoming a well-adjusted adult is to be able to take care of myself while handling the rest of my responsibilities! I let my workplace know that it probably isn’t a good idea to go into the office — I would be working remotely, but it was best to keep my germs to myself.

And, after letting my church small group know that I couldn’t make it to our meeting, I slept at 8:30PM — yes, you read that right — so that I could be properly rested and allow my body to overcome the germs.

But while being able to take care of yourself is a huge part of being an adult, an aspect of immaturity is the inability to acknowledge your limitations… so the other part of growing up is being able to ask for help when you need it.

This is new for me, because I tend to really dislike asking for help — it pains me to admit that I’m unable to do something by myself, because I feel like it robs me of my perceived competence. So, when I started feeling sick when I was on my way to work, I considered just walking home by myself, even though I was already feeling pretty dizzy. Thankfully, even I was able to see that it was a dumb idea, and I asked someone from church for a ride home.

Turns out, a little dose of humility actually brought bigger blessings than I imagined. Later on, the friend who took me home asked if I had eaten yet. I hadn’t. Thinking and breathing felt like a chore, let alone standing up and cooking. I had to admit that I hadn’t felt well enough to cook, and she brought me some soup!

We had also run out of medicine at home, and I was too dizzy to drive and get some. But again, I was loath to ask for help… until my housemate knocked on my door, and asked if I needed anything from Safeway. Initially, I told her that I was fine… but she insisted. After taking some medicine and eating the cuties she bought me, I felt a heck of a lot better and was actually able to function like a human being, not a groggy ape.

My work station for the past couple of days — cuties, tea & Dayquil provided by my friends

If I had been too stubborn and proud to ask for help, I would still be in pain, ineffective, and I wouldn’t have experienced the care and love of my friends. I guess the lesson I learned today is that The Beatles were right: we do get by with a little help from our friends, and that’s perfectly okay.

Lesson of the day: Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it — just make sure to show proper appreciation and gratitude toward the people in your life who go out of their way to help you!

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