After testing positive for COVID-19 this summer, Lauren Dodgson ‘21 felt trapped. She was no longer allowed to see friends and enjoy her summer as any other teenager would. It felt like she was wasting time sitting indoors, but she couldn’t do anything about it. 

With COVID-19 and quarantine, students see different aspects of life through a new lens. “From my experience, I have learned to be empathetic for people who have COVID-19 since quarantine can depend a lot on a person’s mental health,” Dodgson said. “Also, I have realized that even though it might be annoying to wear a mask every day, it helps slow the spread and will ultimately keep you healthy.”

A handful of students at East Grand Rapids have gotten COVID-19, and many more have quarantined as a result. Numerous positive and negative effects come with quarantining for an extended amount of time including changed mental health, lack of concentration on school, and spending time with family. 

Many people who had COVID-19 didn’t mind quarantining. “Quarantine was better than I expected. I missed being able to interact with other people, but I was still able to workout within my house so it wasn’t too bad, but I was ready to be done when it was time,” Chloe Sholler ‘21 said. 

The judgment of those with COVID-19 has been at an all-time high. People tend to be self-conscious of themselves and do not want others to think bad of them for something that is out of their control, yet this can be a challenge.“I haven’t personally been judged, but I have seen others be judged based on who they hang out with during these times,” Dodgson said. “I think the judgment is based on fear.” 

Going through difficult times can change your perspective on things. “Mentally, I felt tired. I was also very frustrated. I kind of felt trapped since I would see my friends enjoying their summer while I felt like I was wasting mine away sitting indoors and I couldn’t do anything about it,” Dodgson said. With COVID-19 and quarantine, students see different aspects of life through a new lens. “From my experience, I have learned to be empathetic for people who have COVID-19 since quarantine can depend a lot on a person’s mental health. Also, I have realized that even though it might be annoying to wear a mask every day, it helps slow the spread and will ultimately keep you healthy,” Dodgson said.

With all of the uncertainty around COVID-19 and quarantine, there have been some challenging things. Sholler said that the hardest part for her was “breaking the news to family and friends that [she] had Covid and telling people they could have it and have to quarantine.”

COVID-19 has also prevented people from seeing their family members. With older people having more of a high risk of getting COVID-19, seeing extended family hasn’t been available. “One positive thing about having COVID-19 was that since I had the antibodies afterward I could go visit susceptible people like my grandma,” Dodgson said. 

There are also positive effects that come from quarantining and having COVID-19. Some of those being talking virtually to friends and family during one’s free time. “I found I got closer with some friends and family because I got to FaceTime and talk to them more since I had nothing to do,” Sholler said.

Quarantine and COVID-19 are very mentally taxing and draining. With time to catch up on missing work, TV series, and overall mental health, this can be a time for many people to find themselves again and spend more time with the people who matter the most, their family.