My Experience with COVID-19

At the beginning of the school year, my roommates and I started experiencing sore throats and headaches, which we brushed off as mild cold symptoms. 

We didn’t think much of it, but we quarantined anyway because any kind of symptoms during a pandemic should not be ignored. The mild symptoms lasted about 24 hours, then they were joined by coughs, fevers, and body aches. Once these more severe symptoms set in, we knew we had to be tested. 

Within the third week of being back at school, my roommates and I all tested positive for COVID-19. 

Being diagnosed with the virus is quite a process to say the least. One of my roommates called Penn State University Health Services to inquire about free testing. We happened to be pointed in the wrong direction and told there was no free testing on campus. 

We found out later that this is not true — there are no appointment-needed testing locations on campus. Since we were unaware of this, my roommates and I got tested at the MedExpress off-campus in State College. 

We called in advance to make sure that location tested for COVID-19 and could take all three of us that day. Surprisingly, they could and testing was rapid. Usually, at an Urgent Care center, you spend hours waiting to get looked at, but all three of us were in and out within an hour and 15 minutes. 

They also said we wouldn’t get our results for five to seven days but we received our results in two. So, although we would’ve rather gotten tested on campus, we were satisfied with how well MedExpress handled us and the speed at which they did. 

Our positive test results came with the obvious order to quarantine for 10 days starting from the first day we showed symptoms. 

While in quarantine, we watched as each of our symptoms evolved. The coronavirus affects every person differently, so it was interesting for my roommates and I to compare our progression of symptoms and keep them in check. For me, my fever stuck around for three days. It hovered right in the 100.2 – 100.7 region and was just enough to cause frequent chills and some achiness. 

On top of that, I had a sore throat and an insane pressure headache. Then, out of all my roommates, I was the only one with chest tightness and shortness of breath. 

My roommates, Hayden and Tori, both had coughs and much worse sore throats than I did. Tori’s cough actually settled in her lungs a bit and it lasted for the entire 10 days of quarantine. 

However, my other roommate Monika and I didn’t have a cough at all. Monika had the worst headache out of us all but never had a fever. She also slept a ton so she either didn’t have or didn’t feel the extensive symptoms that the rest of us did. 

Overall, other than Tori’s cough, we only had major symptoms for the first five days of quarantine. During the last five days,  we felt much better. It wasn’t until the sixth day that we started experiencing, in our opinions, the worst symptom – losing our sense of taste and smell. 

Losing our senses was torture.

We all love to cook but none of us wanted to make anything tasty if we couldn’t taste it. Then, when it came to any cravings we had, they were never satisfied without the taste. It was a bizarre feeling and it lasted three to four days for all of us. 

The second we realized we got our taste back, we ordered Chipotle on DoorDash. I highly recommend treating yourself if you experience this symptom because it was like having Chipotle for the first time all over again. Choose this meal wisely. 

My roommates and I were honestly very fortunate to quarantine in the same apartment. We were still bored out of our minds but being together allowed us to help each other through the 10 days. 

We watched plenty of movies and way too much Grey’s Anatomy. We were also able to get ahead on our school work since there was nothing else to do.

By the end of the 10 days, we were all at each other’s necks, but overall, we got through it together. 

• COVID-19
• self-quarantine