Law school itself is a headache. I constantly have so many things to think about and so many things I need to do/learn/read/research, that I find myself clenching my jaw quite often, which leads to splitting headaches. It’s bad enough already, so when a classmate gives me an even worse headache, I must seriously use all of my willpower not to go fucking apeshit and start screaming at them.

One classmate of mine wears a fragrance that bothers me so much, that as soon as he comes near me, I have a hard time not crying and vomiting because of the pain in my head. Unfortunately for me, this person happens to sit near me in every class we have together. I’ve tried subtle hints, I’ve tried leaning as far away from him as I can, I’ve even tried simultaneously chewing gum and rubbing essential oils under my nose so I can’t smell him. Once I outright told him that I get headaches when I sit near him because of his smell. It. Just. Doesn’t. Work. He still chooses to sit by me and wears whatever godforsaken scent that is. I’ve gotten to the point where I’m almost having Pavlovian responses just thinking about sitting near him.

Luckily, we don’t have any classes together next year, but I can bet that there will be plenty of other classmates who just don’t understand that strong fragrances have no place in the classroom. Maybe if I give into the pain and just start vomiting and crying every time they come near, at least none of them will ever want to sit by me.