Two weeks ago I tested positive for COVID-19. This was very unexpected and definitely impacted my life immensely. With a year of COVID-19 being around the way the media and the public describes it versus the reality was not what I was expecting. 

The weekend before I found out that I had it, I was competing at a dance competition in Davenport Iowa. In order to get to the event center on time, I had to wake up very early, around 4 a.m. to be specific. This is very normal for weekends I am competing so I honestly thought nothing of being a little more tired than normal because of the early start time. I did well on all of my routines and did the best I’ve done all season on my solo routine. This made me just think I was perfectly fine because I was thrilled with the wonderful placements I had received at the competition. 

A day later I was at home when my parents came to tell me that we were all getting tested because they were worried about all the exposure at the competition. This sparked anxiety within me because I had a negative experience getting tested a month prior. With much convincing we then got rapid tested. Not even an hour later it turned out that all three of us did in fact have the virus. My heart dropped and I couldn’t believe it was true. 

Next was the start of my two-week quarantine. This was hard for me, I was sick but this also meant no seeing friends, no school, no dance, and no social activities. I’m typically a pretty social person and enjoy spending time with all people I’m close to, so this was a big change. The most disappointing thing was not being able to compete at another competition, scheduled for the weekend after I tested positive. This was really difficult for me because I missed my friends and team and just had to sit at home and watch them through a screen. This was very upsetting but I kept growing sicker and sicker. I slept most days and wasn’t able to do much. My taste and smell were very dulled. I don’t think I ever completely lost them however, both my taste and smell were very different. Things I normally enjoyed didn’t taste the same and I could barely smell even the strongest scents. 

I’m currently still facing mild symptoms and have issues doing normal activities due to trouble breathing but in the grand scheme of things I’m very grateful I didn’t have major health complications unlike the many people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Many people were not nearly as lucky as I was and I feel very thankful everything will eventually come back to normal for me. I have so much gratitude for all the health care workers battling this unfortunate pandemic and handling it to the best of their expert abilities. Take it from me, COVID-19 is very real and not fun, so please wear a mask, social distance, and get vaccinated to protect yourself and those you care about!