For the last two weeks I have been quarantining with my sister at home because I was first-hand exposed to a positive COVID-19 case. I promptly went to my hometown clinic and got tested. Those two days where I was in limbo, not knowing whether or not I would test positive, kind of drained the life out of me. I isolated myself in my room and only emerged to use the bathroom or to get something to eat and drink. Those two days went by slower than a snail in peanut butter in the dead of winter. I finally got the call that I had tested negative! I cheered and informed the rest of my family.

The rest of my two weeks of quarantine went by fairly quickly but there were some days I would be up at 8:30 a.m., start on school work and not be done until 11:30 p.m.–midnight. There was one day where I got to sit on the couch and watch T.V. for almost the entire day. Do you know how long it’s been since I was able to just sit around the house with no obligations? Probably junior year of high school.

This Monday, Oct. 26, would have been my first day back on campus. Though on Saturday evening, my sister and I checked the weather and saw that there was an expected four to seven inches of snow to fall in Wayne Sunday night. We decided to wait until early Monday morning to return to campus after the snow stopped falling. But when I woke up Sunday morning, my mom informed me that my dad had tested positive for COVID-19.

So, then my first thought was, “We’re all going to get it, huh?” My second thought was, “This means I will be missing four weeks of classes!” and thirdly, “Why did this happen to me?”

Not in a million years would I have thought that I would be exposed to COVID-19 back to back and be at home for an entire month. At this rate why should I return to campus to finish the remaining two and a half weeks of this semester? Unless I am struck down with another exposure, I do plan to return to campus. I miss talking to and seeing other people.

This extended quarantine has taken a toll on my mental and physical health. Since it has snowed and been kind of crappy weather in my hometown (also I live in the country on a farm) I am not able to go outside and take a walk. My main form of physical activity was walking continuously around campus from class to class, meeting friends for drinks in the library or grabbing some yogurt from lower cafeteria. I definitely miss seeing familiar faces around campu,s or walking into Humanities and seeing a handful of classmates and catching up in the hallways.

As I write this article, I sit on the couch in my Husker themed pajamas and wait for my COVID-19 test results. And as I sit here on the couch, my mom has set up her home office, my older sister (who goes to Wayne State with me) is upstairs in her room facetiming our roommates talking about college graduation, my younger sister (who goes to Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kansas) is sitting at the table attempting to teach herself chemistry, and my dad is downstairs in his room isolating himself from the rest of us.

The next two weeks will be interesting, to say the least. I hope everyone is staying healthy and safe. We are nearing the end of this whirlwind of a semester. We can do this!

See y’all here next week, take care and be kind to one another.