BY ROSA PRESTON

On Tuesday of August 30th, I started getting a cough and my throat started to get scratchy. My aunt and cousin had come over to celebrate Labor Day with us, and my dad seemed to be focused on cleaning the house. But by Friday, my coughing fits were worse, and after each of them, I was breathless. My dad eventually took me to a doctor. And it was there where I tested positive for Covid-19.

I had dozens of questions racing through my head, and I was panicking a bit. My dad, cousin, and aunt were all around 70—so I was most anxious about infecting them. Luckily, we got them out of my house after I got home and was isolated. I was put on medication to relieve some of the symptoms, and I was isolated for the whole next week of school.

Speaking of isolation, my dad and I ended up moving some things into the basement. There had been people living with us before, so there were already some things that I could use during my stay. My plan was to study and only come upstairs when I was wearing a mask to get food or bathe. Yeah, safe to say that was not the case.

First of all, I spent more time with my games in my bed than studying, for a couple reasons. One of which was because the symptoms would go on and off with each day, and I’d be exhausted or really stuffed up. So I would spend more time trying to rest. And second, I have the attention span of a fly when I have all my devices on me. I think that when you’re at school, even if you have your phone with you, you’ll still study since you know you’ll get in trouble for using it during study/class time. At home, you don’t have that, so it wasn’t common for me to study or work on an assignment for about ten minutes before playing Animal Crossing on my Switch.

It’s a little scary that Covid-19 can be so easily mistaken for a simple cold. That’s the reason I was at school on Wednesday. But then the symptoms evolved into what could’ve been thought as to be the flu or pneumonia. But there’s a difference between these.

The flu and Covid-19 do have similar symptoms, such as a fever, fatigue, sore throat, and stomach problems such as vomiting and diarrhea. But it’ll take longer to experience the symptoms if you have covid than if you have the flu, and covid spreads faster.

But I think that the hardest part about Covid-19 is the fear and shame. I was terrified of giving Covid to my family or friends, because I had no idea how long I had it, and I was in school for a while. And even though  I knew I could study, I would be so exhausted or distracted to do so, and I felt pretty awful about it.

But my family and I did pretty well considering how bad the situation was and could’ve been. As far as I know, no one in my family, including my elderly aunt and cousin caught the virus, which is what I was the most anxious about. My family and I adapted, and now I’m back at school writing this story. Coronavirus is not a joke, nor anything to toy with. So, as a person who has experienced the virus, if you or anyone you know has the symptoms, or even just a persistent cough, see a doctor. Learn what to do if you or someone in your family get’s Covid-19. And most importantly, do what you can to keep yourself healthy, and happy.