Saturday: When my phone lit up on Saturday with a text from my friend saying she tested positive for COVID-19, my mouth gaped open. I was so confused. Everyone had convinced me she would be negative, so I honestly had partly forgotten that she had gotten tested in the first place. I immediately thought about the previous night I had spent cheering my heart out at the football game with no concern that I could have been exposed. The truth is, coronavirus disease doesn’t discriminate, not even to my friend that keeps to herself and has been very cautious throughout this pandemic. My dad explained that whether I got tested or not, my quarantine period would still be through October 6, unless I started showing symptoms. I decided to get tested anyway so that my friends and their parents could have clarity. Later that night the South Heartland District Health Department called me to tell me that I was to quarantine myself through October 6. I was also told I would be sent a daily symptom check email from them to monitor if I stayed asymptomatic.
Sunday: At 9:45 am, I was on my way to Hastings Convenient Care PC to get tested. At 10 a nurse came out to my car with a long swab. I was told to hold onto my steering wheel because this would be uncomfortable. Boy was she right. I felt like the swab was never going to stop going up once she started; who knew my left nostril was so deep. Even though it felt like forever, my testing was done in a matter of seconds, and I drove off with a watery left eye and a paper that said I would get my results back in 72 hours. That night felt the same as every other Sunday night, except I knew that the next day I would not be going to school. I emailed all of my teachers about the situation.
Monday: Today I woke up later than I ever have during the school year. My boredom was already starting to set in as I counted how many cheerios I had for breakfast: 113 if you were wondering. I didn’t really do much else other than worry on Monday. I continued to report my lack of symptoms with a normal body temperature. One of my friends dropped off a packet of anatomy after school which made me realized that it is going to be pretty hard to keep up with my school work without going to school.
Tuesday: Today I got to zoom into two of my classes which was very helpful. I listened into my advanced chemistry class lecture, and then joined my world literature class for a poetry day. My mom brought me Tony Tacos for lunch, and they were amazing to say the least. Then I decided taking a two and a half hour nap sounded like a good idea. It is crazy how much time I have during the day now that I’m not at school, and I don’t get to go to swim practice.
Wednesday: By today I was getting pretty anxious to know my COVID test results. I had a zoom call with my AP statistics teacher, Mr. Welsh, and we reviewed for the test I would have to take a week later than all the rest of my classmates. The rest of my day was pretty much for me to use it however I wanted. I did homework all day.
Thursday: There was nothing too special about today. I was 95 percent sure that I would get my results back, but I did not. I wonder how many people are getting tested right now because it seems like Test Nebraska is pretty backed up this week. I went to my two online classes again and then took another nap. Now I am studying for my anatomy bones quiz that I hope to do well on tomorrow. Wish me luck!
Friday: Today was the lucky day. I opened my email at 11 am and saw that I tested negative for coronavirus! I can not stop smiling, and I am so relieved that I did not affect anybody else’s life. I immediately told all of my friends ,and they were all super happy. I aced my anatomy quiz and then was done with school for the week. At this point, it really hit me that I still had to be in quarantine for 4 more days. I was envious of all of my friends that got to go to the football game in York, while I spent the night at home watching it on Striv TV.
Saturday: Today was not any better. I woke up with the mindset that I wouldn’t have any fun, so I did not. I spent most of the day working on my college applications and watching YouTube on my phone. I checked my screen time for the week and my daily average was a whopping nine hours and 12 minutes, 40 percent higher from last week. You can tell I was bored.
Sunday: I had more of a positive mindset today. I recorded my World Literature project for a couple of hours because I still can not physically be in my classes tomorrow. Then I watched the Cowboys almost make the greatest comeback ever against the Browns, but ultimately they lost. I helped my mom cook a really delicious pasta dinner and then winded down for the night. Even though it will not be tomorrow, I am looking forward to my freedom that is coming up very soon.
Monday: I woke up at 9:20 because my chem teacher announced that she is quarantined for two weeks, so I did not have to wake up for my first class. It is pretty unfortunate that she left right before I was supposed to come back to school. I zoomed into my World Literature class and then started studying for my anatomy practical.
Tuesday: On Tuesday I enjoyed my last day of waking up without an alarm. I was excited for school tomorrow but I didn’t realize at the time how much of a luxury waking up late is. I spent the morning studying for my anatomy practical and then took a break to eat some spaghetti for lunch. Then my quarantine was officially over since my last exposure was 14 days ago at one. I went over to my friend’s house to study for anatomy on her skeleton because the anatomy grind never stops. Once I got into my bed that night, my thoughts of what I needed to do these next three days kept me awake for a while. I set my alarm for 7:30 a.m. and hoped for the best.
