My run-in with the terrible virus

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For humans, fear is a normal emotion. Anyone who said they had never experienced fear must be lying. Most of us were afraid of shadows, darkness, or other small innocuous things as children.

The fear of those things eventually fades as we mature because we get wiser. I frequently remind people that ignorance, or the inability to comprehend how something functions, is the main cause of dread. I remember when I used to dread writing on this platform, a lot of people would tell me that "Hive is difficult," and I would take them at their word. I bought into it wholeheartedly, and now whenever someone suggests that I write on the hive, I always respond, "Ha ha, the hive is too challenging for me."

Fear is constant

Well, one thing about life is that we always confront problems in all aspects of it, such as family, education, career, etc. When difficulties arise, we have two choices: we can either let them wear us down or we may confront and overcome them. When we encounter difficulties, they make us more resilient because we realize that bravery is a quality that can be acquired.

Fear would be on my list of the constants in my life if you were to ask me. I'm always afraid, especially when I'm facing a new problem. If I were to start enumerating all the times I was frightened, I may end up writing more words than the entirety of Wikipedia (lol). So I'll limit myself to just one.

My tale

After the lockdown in 2020, my institution decided to physically reopen for academic activities in my second year, which was in the year 2021. We all eagerly returned to school after spending more than a year at home.

Everything was going well academically, and although I'd say most of us didn't follow the COVID-19 regulations, many of us tried to. The dormitory was crowded as usual since there weren't enough beds to house the whole undergraduate student body and because many of us couldn't afford to pay for lodging elsewhere. As a result, we had to squat with friends or pay to squat. It is typical to see 8 to 10 individuals occupying a room that is typically intended for 4 people.

There were just 7 of us in my room— 4 bona fide and 3 squatters. In late June 2021, one of our housemates who is a real person celebrated his birthday. We all joined in the celebration as his mother provided cakes and beverages. We all get along with one another fairly well in our room.

Our roommate, who had just celebrated his birthday, began to feel ill towards the end of June. It all started with a headache, and he later complained he had begun to lose his tasting ability. One day, one of the roommates wanted to test his sense of smell by spritzing some perfume. However, this roommate claimed he was unable to detect the scent.

Though we all ignored it, we began to get concerned. When he started to feel unwell, that was when things took a turn for the worst. I started pleading with him to go to the hospital, but he was hesitant.

But on one occasion, I believe it was in the first week of July, he went to the hospital. He was also told to come back the next day to take a test. The next day -- on a Thursday, while I was in the library, one of my roommates called. He called to let me know that the ill roommates had tested positive for COVID-19, the news hit me like a ton of bricks. He was instructed to pack his belongings by school officials, and I was informed that he was told to leave right away for home. "The school should have taken him to a quarantine facility." I blurted out.

And the fear came

We were all instructed to be in the medical facility the next day, per the information. I started to get worried at that time and started going over everything that had happened. I then recognized this was a significant issue. It's likely that everyone in our room had COVID if one of our housemates had the COVID-19 virus.

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I was terrified since I had no idea what to do. When I realized that I wasn't even the legitimate resident of the room, my panic increased. What does that imply? What will the authorities require us to do?

To make a long tale short, we all requested academic leave for two weeks after asking to leave school. Despite another of us testing positive and the school refusing to administer the COVID-19 test for us all, The concern began when we were all instead sent home.

What would happen if I tested positive and my ageing parents contracted the virus for me?

The terror began to take over, but fortunately, I was able to properly quarantine myself, performed several exercises, and took my medications. As a result, neither I nor the people close to me suffered any major harm.

Epilogue

The fact that similar occurrences of COVID-19 occurred in other rooms and hostels a few days after our room was sealed is also something I should mention. The entire school was shut down as a result, for more than two months.