On the morning of July 18, I woke up with a sore throat, but I thought nothing of it after I took some cough drops. I never thought it could be the coronavirus.

I brushed it off thinking my allergies were acting up and made plans to go to the pool with three of my friends. After that, I went home and a friend of mine from dance told me she tested positive for the coronavirus. I thought about how I felt in the morning, and realized I might have the virus because we had been dancing together all week. We weren’t wearing masks, and we were sweating together in the same room. 

That night I woke up nauseous with chills. The next morning my mom took me to Advent Health Centra Care to be tested. By then, my symptoms consisted of congestion, fever, shortness of breath and nausea. My results came back in 15 minutes with a positive result. While I was on the way home, I called my work, emailed my dance teachers and told everyone I came in contact with the day before. 

Next, my quarantine started. I spent my days watching T.V., eating, texting and Snapchatting people. Not being able to leave my room for multiple days was not only a strain on my physical health, but it also took a toll on my mental health. 

My symptoms were worse for the first few days. After about a week, my symptoms lessened but I had no energy; I never left my bed. I was the second one to test positive from my dance studio, but after my test, about 10 more girls tested positive. In addition to that, another 12 girls from a different studio were positive. My dance friends and I were pretty sure we contracted it from a dance competition we attended the week before. 

From this experience, I learned just how important it is to appreciate everything you have, no matter how big or small, because you don’t know when it will be taken away. My immune system was strong enough to fight this off, but I know it’s impossible to know how everyone will react to the virus.

Before I got COVID-19, I thought everyone who tested positive went to the hospital. I only saw what was shown on the news. I didn’t think about the people who had mild cases, but I also didn’t realize how fast it spreads. I didn’t have symptoms until a couple days after being exposed, and I came in contact with a lot of people during those days. I can’t stress enough how important it is to be aware of how you feel and make sure you’re doing your best to stop the spread.

Read senior Katie Charest’s experience here.