You have all heard the story. Someone got COVID-19, and their opinion changed. I’m here to tell that story once more. Not just as some person on the news, someone you most likely don’t know, but as a Lancer, a kid just like you.

I was never really scared of COVID-19. Oh, it was always on the back of my mind, but all I saw was an opportunity to have a week or two at home with a little cold. But then it hit me, much worse than a little cold.

Imagine laying at home, and you can’t taste or smell anything, laying there almost lifeless because your body hurts so bad. You can’t seem to catch your breath after something as simple as flipping over in your bed. You’re burning up, sweating and you feel like there’s nothing you can do.

I thought in my head that I would be good for the rest of my life if it would just go away. It’s horrendous. In my case, I really thought I was going to die at one point. It was 3 a.m. I was sweating so much it felt like I had just taken a shower, and my head spinning like I had just gotten off a roller coaster. Worst of all were the body aches. It’s worse than you could imagine. I had to have my poor mother help me move around the house because I didn’t have the physical strength to move on my own.

The COVID-19 journey was rough, and if you’re not convinced to take COVID-19 seriously yet, let me give you more. While you feel like you’re dying, your teachers are still at school, working as if you were there in class. You know that you’re falling behind, but you just can’t do anything. At home with COVID-19, it’s like you’re in a prison. Assignments are stacking up, tests are being taken without you. Your “week off” turns into hours of haunting schoolwork at home and at school, all because you didn’t take COVID-19 seriously. I’m vaccinated, and I’m convinced that without my vaccine, my time with COVID-19 would have been even more excruciating.

So I know that I’m telling the same story as a lot of other people, but please listen to me, a student, a Lancer. Be safe, be smart, be cautious, because it’s just not worth it to get COVID-19.