We all thought it was nothing. It was just big flu. But that flu spread over my family in Italy and that really worried me. I was praying that my family would be ok since they lived near the hot zone. The only thing to do was hope for the better.

As the Covid-19 was spreading in the U.S what I was more worried about was not the virus itself but the panic. It wasn't' really a pandemic, it was more of a panic-demic. People were hoarding toilet paper, hand sanitizers, and creating conspiracy theories of China deliberately spreading the virus, or Bill Gates creating the virus for profit. It was all nonsense. Even my family was really panicking. For months no one got out of the house, my dad wouldn't even go outside to even throw out the trash. It got to a point where I was bored of being bored. Meanwhile, we tried to follow all protocols, such as wash your hands, stay at home and wear a mask so we can stay safe.

At the end of May, out of all of a sudden, I got sick. We weren't really worried since it was during spring where most people always get the flu. It then spread to my brother, then my mom and then father. It only lasted about a week so we hadn't really thought about it, but still followed the protocols.

These couple of months have been a ride of emotion: from the joy my family in Italy getting out of quarantine to the sadness of my neighbor dying of COVID.

After a couple of weeks, we thought we should take the antibody test to see the story. My mom and my dad took the test and it came out positive with IgG antibodies. We were all in shock. I and my brother didn't take it because it was obvious we had it. One thing was clear, I brought the virus at home when we were all sick.

When the results came all I could think was one thing: I could've died. My brother, my mom, and my father would have died at the end of May. This helped me learn that many people take their life for granted. Your life could end tomorrow and you wouldn't even know it. People should be grateful that they could wake up in the morning and take that whiff of fresh air, and plan what they are going to do today. Because of COVID and this experience, I will fill my days with memories and make it worthwhile and I'm sure my neighbor appreciated everything.

WAIT! The story isn't over. We are still battling the virus, and even though hundreds of people are dying I still have hope. This virus would one day go away and as people grow older they may forget it or put it in the history books. We are going to get over this virus like we always do with any situation. Blaming people left or right would not solve anything, it will just create more problems. We just need to fight this and find a solution together. If we do that we can make our future bright and worthwhile