I have never even had the flu. In fact, I have barely ever been to the doctor at all except for that one time in fifth grade when I broke my foot. So, walking into the Jackson Clinic to get tested for coronavirus, I never expected the test to actually come back positive. After all, it was only the sniffles… but apparently not.
So began my 10 days of quarantine and the many awkward conversations that soon followed.
“Hey, so I have bad news. I tested positive for COVID yesterday…. I’m really sorry about this, and I was honestly shocked I tested positive. But I’m going to have to put you on my list. I’m so sorry, sis.”
This, or some variant of it, was the text that many of my close friends received. The shame and discomfort surrounding those words were not something I fully anticipated.
Like Adam and Eve hiding from the Lord in the garden, I felt like I had sinned, bringing sickness and loneliness to my friends. Then, just like the original sinners, I retreated to my room, to hide in my shame and to wait.
It is strange to think about how something like caring for the health of others can become such a negative thing. No one wants to sit in their room alone for two whole weeks, and the feeling is worse when you were the one that put them there. In this season, we are so afraid of loneliness that not only do we get upset with someone for causing it, but we actually start to wish our same fate on other people. Or at least I did.
After receiving my positive COVID-19 test, my roommates knew they should get tested, too. So as they left the room Monday afternoon, I shouted “Good luck! I hope you have corona!”
Yes, this is a terrible thing to wish upon my closest friends, but in that moment, my greatest fear was being forced to live alone in a different building for the next two weeks searching for anything to distract me.
Though they may not openly admit it, I think this is what many students feel as they test positive and head towards isolation. That after months of quarantine at home, we just cannot do it anymore. Being back at school brought all the things we desperately missed: friends, activities, organizations and even classes. But isolation strips all of that away.
So, when I tested positive and faced the prospects of 10 days in isolation, I just could not help but wish that my roommates were sick too. Then, we could face it together. And that nagging feeling of loneliness might not have such a strong hold this time.
Thankfully, my roommates and I have been allowed to stay together, or at least we are together right now. But other students have not been so lucky. Chris Johnson, senior cell and molecular biology major, received his positive test and soon after moved to the Hope Quad for isolation. For the rest of his isolation period, Johnson spent his time with Addison Coleman, sophomore accounting and exercise science double major, and Jacob Greene, senior chemistry major, who were also positive and confined to Hope.
The three made it through isolation by spending their days playing disc golf, soccer, cornhole, Call of Duty, Rocket League and taking walks at night. All socially distanced from others of course. While Johnson may not have found it too difficult to keep entertained, he did struggle to remain motivated.
This seems to be a common theme of quarantine and isolation. Hadie Sowell, sophomore conservation biology major, is currently living through her second quarantine. The first began on Aug. 24 and the second on Sept. 24, both for a full 14 days.
Sowell’s experience differed from Johnson’s in that she was able to stay with her roommates. However, having great roommates means it is easy to get off track from your work. As Sowell quickly learned, she could never be in the living room and get homework done.
From their experiences in quarantine, both Johnson and Sowell learned the value of setting goals. Some are more important like getting assignments done and being productive, but the more fun goals are those things that are only possible during a time like quarantine. For instance, one of Sowell’s roommates set out to learn how to do a push-up, and as Sowell proudly shared with me, that goal was accomplished during their first quarantine.
“For those that are going into quarantine, try to make it as hilarious of a time as you possibly can,” said Johnson. “Try to wake up, plan what you’re going to do the following day, make a list of what you’re going to accomplish, and make sure you accomplish those things before you go to bed.”
While we may want to look at quarantine as simply pausing life for two weeks, it has the potential to be so much more. If you are in quarantine with your roommates, then you have the opportunity to get to know them in ways you never have before. Or for students placed in isolation with other COVID-positive students, you may get to meet someone for the first time or grow in fellowship with someone you do not know well just yet.
Even greater than the space to cultivate friendships is the newfound time to spend with Christ. As Johnson and Sowell separated themselves from the world, they drew deeper into their relationships with the Lord. Through those days, 1 Peter 5:6-9 became Johnson’s bedrock. The verses reminded him that this time of struggle was small in comparison with the sufferings of Christ, and that we are called to lean upon the Lord, hand Him our burdens and allow Him to comfort us, strengthen us and conform us to His image.
“He is showing me how to rest. Because I still have commitments and I still have class, but in a lot of ways He is teaching me how to withdraw and showing me the value of it,” said Sowell.
So, whether you have been through quarantine, are experiencing it right now or you are waiting for the day you receive the dreaded email, I encourage you to find the value in it. This time is for us to learn how to rest, to have meaningful conversations with the people around us and to seek Christ in ways we have not thought of before. Take advice from people like Johnson and Sowell who have already walked through the season and never lost sight of the hope that we have in Jesus.
As Johnson said, “Just park it. Relax. Use this as an opportunity to truly connect with the people you’re closest with. And learn how to rest. Learn how to slow down.”
And as Sowell told me, “Just because life doesn’t look normal does not mean that there is no room in this space to grow and to deepen your relationships with the Lord, with the people you do get to be around or with the people you get to be with more in this season.”
