When we left school for spring break, COVID-19 was just beginning. I didn’t fully understand it, and throughout the summer, I was never worried. Now as I sit here typing this on my 12th day of quarantine, I realize I was wrong. 

It was on Thursday, August 13, when I got a phone call from one of my friends. I had just hung out with her a few days before, along with 2 other friends. When I answered the phone, my friend told me she was exposed to the coronavirus and was on her way to get tested. 

About an hour later, my older sister called. She said that our friend was positive, and we needed to get tested as soon as possible. We quickly got on the test Iowa site, trying to set up appointments. Everything was happening so quickly; I was shocked through it all. I knew it was possible I would have to get tested someday, but this was all so soon. 

At 6:30am on Friday morning, my sister, mom and I all left for West Des Moines where the drive-up testing site was located. We got there at about 7:45 and waited in line for the clock to hit 8. At 8:00 we were told to pull forward. I’ll spare you the graphic details, but after we blew our noses we both got tested. After the test, the wait began, we were told we’d have our results in 24-72 hours. 

We went home and our quarantine began. We had been exposed 3 days ago, meaning we had 11 more stuck in the house. When we were exposed, it started the incubation period. So, when we got our negative results back, we still needed to quarantine. This meant we were going to miss school photos and our first day of school.

On the 18th, we left for Des Moines again to get a second test. The CDC recommended a second test because our first test was taken very early in the incubation period. We received those results a day later- we were negative again. The next day we watched everyone go back to school as we started online. For me, my day consisted of waking up only 10 minutes before my first class and spending all day in my bed zooming into my classes. 

Personally, online school was a lot better this time than in the spring. I talked to my teachers and for most of my classes, they gave me the google meet code. Then I would join class right as the bell rang. For most classes I sat on mute just listening to the teacher talk to the class, but in a few classes I was able to see and talk to my peers. Overall online school was much easier to learn and be engaged in. 

Finally, on the 26th of August, I returned to school. Coming back was a little new because I was just starting school while everyone else was almost a week in. I was finally able to see who I sat by in my classes and finally join all my friends at lunch. 

Although quarantining wasn’t super fun, the whole experience was eye-opening. I never expected to be exposed to Corona, but it taught me how easily anyone can get it.