The past year has been quite an adventure. Last spring we began what we believed to be a month of quarantine, but that quickly changed. California has been in some form of quarantine for ten months now and honestly, no one is sure when it will end.

We have all done our best to make sure we don’t get this virus that has killed thousands around the world. However, even though we take precautions, follow the rules, and remain at home, it’s not foolproof. I got COVID-19, and it was interesting.

Winter break, 2020, it was the beginning of what I believed to be a very fun yet simple break. School had been stressing me out for the past couple of months, and three weeks of vacation was the best gift anyone could give me. I could relax and spend time with my family.

A few days after the break began it was my birthday, and everyone was busy. I had a terrible headache that day, but I brushed it off and took some medicine. It went away after that so I assumed it was nothing. I felt a little flushed, but I thought it was because my birthday was going well.

Christmas Eve, 2020, that’s when COVID-19 really hit my family. We had learned that my aunt and cousin had gotten the virus, and I had spent the past weekend with them. There wasn’t much that we could do except quarantine. Normally, we would go all out for Christmas, but everyone was feeling awful so instead of our usual traditions we kept it simple.

The weekend after Christmas my family and I got tested, and sure enough, we were positive. I had a fever those first few days and a pounding headache. It wasn’t pretty, it wasn’t fun, it was terrible. The cold weather didn’t help either.

When my fever let up and I started feeling better, that feeling soon went away––as did my sense of smell and taste. It was very annoying to say the least. The food was bland, and nothing I did brought any flavor. Each day I tried to get back my sense of smell, but nothing worked. I didn’t regain either of those senses until the two weeks were over.

No taste, no smell, headaches that were awful, a stuffy nose, and a cough that just wouldn’t stop. Sure the fever lasted only a few days, but every other symptom I experienced lasted those two weeks. Winter break had gone from relaxing to dreadful in an instant.

During those two weeks my schedule mostly consisted of staying in my room, reading, and watching Netflix, YouTube, or Disney+. I only left my room to eat and use the bathroom.
Eventually, the two weeks were up, and when we got tested again we all finally came up negative.

Getting COVID-19 was never something my family wanted. We had done everything to make sure we wouldn’t receive it, and yet we did. None of us expected that our family members who were also very cautious would have the virus. That’s the thing however, we don’t know what’s going to happen. We trusted ourselves and believed that they couldn’t possibly have COVID-19, even though they’re our family we should’ve remained cautious and followed the rules.

Now that I’ve experienced what it’s like to have the virus, that we talk about every day, I’m even more careful than I was before. I’ve become more aware and attentive especially when I go out. My family was lucky enough that it wasn’t severe, that we were all okay in the end. However, some people aren’t as lucky, if you haven’t gotten Covid-19 I hope you never will, it’s not fun or exciting.

While I know it’s tiring and stressful to be in quarantine, we have to do our part and follow the rules so that one day we can go back to normal. Please do your part in helping our community go back to how it was before, so we can go back to school, work, sports, and other activities that we all miss.