Let’s just put it out there so I don’t feel like a hypocrite writing this article: My mom dragged me into the dentist’s office over break. I sat in the stupid reclining dentist chair with hands in my mouth for 45 minutes, and then the dentist had the nerve to tell me I have to come back.

“Excuse you? I am going back to school, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You might have to come home in a few weeks.”

Anyway, it turns out I have four cavities.

This couldn’t have been more of a surprise to me, but then I remembered that when I went out first semester, definitely not to participate in illegal activities, I would always come back to my room and forgo the toothpaste for my comfy bed.

This embarrassing hygienic mishap gave me an epiphany: I do not take care of myself the same way on campus that I do at home. And this isn’t just a “Leah being gross” situation — I’m not alone in my lackadaisical approach to hygiene at school. Lots of freshman have admitted to being less diligent in cleaning themselves.

Erwin Lavric, freshman in Engineering, explained an occurrence that happened to him every so often.EJ “I was up too late ‘studying’ and because of this, the next morning I slept through all my alarms and I wasn’t able to shower,” he said.

Pawan Sajnani, freshman in DGS, had a similar experience regarding sacrifice of his own well-being.EJ

“I woke up late for class and didn’t have time to brush, so I mouthwashed and left.” Sajnani said. “Now I ran out of mouthwash and I cannot do that anymore.”

When we lived at home and went to high school, our lives were much more regulated and mundane. High school was a simpler time, when our parents (or mine, at least) would rouse us from overslept alarms and showers didn’t require footwear.

These days we live life without rules, curfews and parents to yell at us for sleeping in dirty sheets. Something about having complete control over all of your decisions leaves room to fall short in other, seemingly less important areas.

Because we live such rule-free lives in college, some of us forget our rules for basic hygiene. It’s easy to put off a few teeth brushings here or there, or to forget deodorant in the rush to leave the dorm. Enough people forget to brush their teeth at night, and we have a campuswide cavity epidemic. That’s good for the local dentists, but bad for our personal health.

I am willing to be the first to admit my teeth-brushing mishap, because I care about my fellow Illini. Because I have made this embarrassing statement, maybe now we can all take a step back and take time to acknowledge our own changed routines. We have all done a few things differently at college than the way we did them at home.

As underclassmen, even second-semester underclassmen, we are still learning how we want our schedules to run. It is tough to handle so many different types of obligations all around campus. If getting sleep and having enough travel time isn’t enough to pencil into your mornings already, the extra 15 minutes you need to completely clean yourself up is a lot to plan for.

And part of growing up is taking responsibility and initiative for our actions. For example, I will have to go back home for four fillings. After recognizing the patterns we are creating, we can take a look at the future. We have to take action in our cleanliness. We must realize we set examples now for the rest of our lives and college is a place to learn from mistakes.

You can keep the same hygienic standards you do at home at college as well. You just have to be more responsible. Next time you stay out late, make a plan for yourself to get everything you need to get done in the morning.

As for me, I will never forget to brush my teeth after a late night out again.

Leah is a freshman in Media.?

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