I haven't interacted with a person in days. I haven't seen the outside in hours. How did I get here?
I am currently quarantined in a hotel. It all started when my friend tested positive for COVID-19. Because I was in close contact with her for more than fifteen minutes I was given two options: go home or stay at a hotel.
Going home and endangering my parents and family members was out of the question for me, so I chose hotel. Within a matter of hours, I had moved from living in a college dorm, enjoying meeting new people and everything else college life has to offer, to suddenly finding myself alone in an unfamiliar room where I'd spend the next two weeks of my life.
Everything happened so fast and it was a lot to take in, but honestly, my experience has not been too bad so far.
There actually are advantages to being forced to live in a hotel room. I have my own bathroom, unlike in my community-style dorm. Three surprisingly tasty meals a day are delivered to my door. Best of all, my university covers the costs.
I'm an introvert, and living in a dorm with hundreds of other college students and living with a roommate was starting to get to me. I love people but I also need alone time and without it I feel suffocated, overwhelmed. Although being quarantined is a little more extreme than I would've liked, it has given me plenty of the alone time I was craving.
Although I would much rather be back at school, having a normal college experience, I am determined to stay positive throughout this whole less than ideal situation. I have hope that things will eventually go back to normal and the infamous coronavirus pandemic will be a thing of the past. But until then, I'm going to continue calmly dealing with whatever curveballs life throws at me, including being forced to live in isolation for two weeks.