Flu Shot

One thing you should know about me: I am was deathly afraid of shots and needles.

The last time I took a blood test, I thanked my lucky stars that I was too dehydrated for the nurse to find a vein to poke into, so I had to go home and return another day. It takes much mental preparation before I finally cave to mandatory vaccinations.

When my mom mentioned a few weeks ago how she wanted us to get flu shots in order to sustain good health this winter, I gave her that look that said, "Me? Shots that aren't necessary? You've got to be kidding me."

This morning, my mother only convinced me as far as going to the doctor's office with her to watch her get a flu shot that the nurse claimed, "is like the ones you see on TV with a needle half the size of the regular ones."

Turns out my mother couldn't get the flu shot. She drank hot water during lunch, so the nurse claimed my mom ran a fever and could not be administered the shot.

I don't know what came over me when I volunteered to take the flu shot. Maybe I didn't want this trip to the doctor's office to be all for naught. Maybe I wanted to just prove that this year,  I'm a more mature Ashley that isn't afraid of shots and needles anymore. Maybe I believed the nurse who claimed the needle was shorter.

I just remember feeling stunned about volunteering when I sat there on the bed. To calm myself I said aloud (to which my sister started laughing and filming me): "It's just a pinch... It's just a pinch... It's just a pin----- OWWWWWW!" Needless to say, it hurt a bit, but not as much as I thought it would. The nurse gave me this Hello Kitty band-aid afterwards.

I wear it proudly like a battle scar.