As day nine comes and goes, there is a growing feeling of excitement as the days begin to wind down. The thought of everything going back to normal is weird, especially when everything that happens in a given day appears to be the new norm.

The days are not special in any way now. They still consist of sitting around, finding distractions that stimulate my mind, and trying to kill time. Only now, I do it all without feeling sick.

Of course, there are moments where something still hits me. Whether it be the COVID or the weight of having been trapped in one place for over a week, I do not know. What I do know is that the wave of relief that the very proposition of reacclimating to society brings is more than appealing, but it does carry some worries.

COVID is a weird virus. It seems as though it would be pretty straightforward when it comes to when you are able to rejoin society. However, as with everything else with the virus, it just isn’t straightforward.

Due to the virus’s ability to stay in your system for 90 days, getting retested to prove whether or not you are still sick is pointless and not a requirement to return to campus. This is an oddly concerning thought.

You are meant to wait 10 days after showing symptoms, while also having to be symptom-free for a full 24 hours. At this point, you still have the virus but do not shed it, and thus are not contagious. But what if? How could anyone be comfortable with going back out without peace of mind?

It is going to take some time to retrain myself to feel comfortable when in close proximity to others. It is just like when an athlete suffers a devastating injury; one of the biggest hurdles of the comeback is the mental barrier that the mind puts up over any such worry.

The end of this quarantine is coming quick, I guess I’ll just have to “enjoy” the last few days until it is over.