The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted all of our lives in different ways, whether big or small, and recently, I experienced one of those impacts first hand. Staying at home with COVID was definitely… something. 

Being stuck at home for 10 days while work piled up in Canvas and back at school is not something that I think anyone would enjoy. Not to mention the amount of tests I have to make up for in the next few weeks, because of course I was absent during the busiest week of the semester so far. Also, did I mention that I’ve avoided getting COVID for two whole years? And that I got it at the beginning of 2022?

Setting a great precedent for the new year, I guess. 

However, being stuck inside wasn’t completely an unpleasant experience. After getting over my initial symptoms during the first week of quarantine, I did get a nice break from the stress and rush of school. We also had home renovations going on downstairs while I quarantined upstairs, so when I was out of isolation I was able to see a brand new kitchen. 

It was also scary, even though my symptoms weren’t as bad and more or less went away after a week. Knowing the impact that COVID has had on my own family as well as the whole world makes it very different when you have it yourself. 

During the last few days of quarantine, I tried my best to finish whatever assignments I could find on Canvas. But there’s only so much you can do without guidance from a teacher or friends, so I’ve had to postpone two quizzes this week already just because I don’t know the topic. 

Getting COVID doesn’t make life easier for anyone, especially in times like this when everything is always changing. With the renovation going on in my house at the same time as my being sick, I was barely able to leave my room most of the time, and when I was allowed, I couldn’t go further than the bathroom next door. Not being able to see my friends- or really, anyone else besides my sister- was terrible as well. 

However, I think having COVID and the weeks that came after it taught me an important lesson: I am not cut out for heavy workloads.