As spooky season comes to a head, let us keep our wits about us as the scariest time of year looms ahead: flu season. 

In my college career I am learning to be a professional in more ways than one — professional journalist, sociologist and broadcaster. I have also found that I’m a professional hypochondriac and people watcher. Unfortunately, these two do not go well together.

In the last year, I have witnessed personal horror after horror: hand-sneezers and shower-haters and sink-refusers — oh my! 

A low moment was when I witnessed a floormate nearly leave the bathroom with their toilet germs unrinsed, then turn around to wash their hands solely because they realized I too was in the room and they could not get away with peeing and fleeing. 

It astounds me that my classmates, my peers, my fellow functioning-adults have such a disregard for their own health let alone the health of others. The more I think about it, the worse it gets. Picture this, one unwashed sneeze into your hands to immediately touching shared surfaces — dining hall appliances, technology, library books, etc — everything you’ve touched has in some way or another been touched by your classmates’ inner fluids. 

My personal fixation is doorknobs — everyone touches them. After all that I’ve witnessed, I simply can’t bring myself to make contact. 

If you were to ever watch me open a door, you’ll notice that I never touch the knob with my whole hand. For any who are looking for any tips and tricks for avoiding the germ-pools of doorknobs, these are my personal favorite techniques that I’ve found bring peace of mind:

Sleeve over hand — this provides an impenetrable force between you and the germs that live on a doorknob, a super easy method to use in winter.

Open with wrist — this requires some hand gymnastics by contorting your arm to slip your hand past the doorknob and using your wrist to push down the handle, this is a less beginner-friendly method and may lead to some wrist bruising. 

Heel of hand — this is a last-ditch method for if you have no sleeve and no way to stick your wrist/arm in. This requires maneuvering the angular bone of your wrist to open the door without needing to wrap your hand around the cesspool of a knob. 

As we move into winter and seasonal allergies ramp up, I urge you to wash your hands after blowing your nose and implore you to direct your sneezes towards your elbow. 

If you ever find yourself disregarding sinks or wiping snot on any surface and think, “I hope nobody’s watching,” know that I always am.