COVID-19 changed the world. Actually, COVID-19 is currently changing the world; what the world looks like at the end is an uncertainty. While we can hope civilization learns from this global event, each person and family has assumed different mindsets and responsibilities toward their interactions with the world while the coronavirus remains sovereign. My girlfriend and I have taken a conservative approach with our behaviors since March 2020. We eliminated unnecessary social interactions, have not eaten in any restaurants, and have yet to set foot in a grocery store over the last nearly seven months. Despite our choices, however, the world continued moving at its own pace and civic leaders turned a public health crisis into a divisive political issue. More heart-wrenching, joyous events like my brother’s wedding brought forth consternation because the virus’ presence put family members at risk and the venue sat smack in the middle of a burgeoning COVID hotspot. I was not going to miss my brother’s wedding, and while I did not like that invitees would be forced into a difficult decision whether or not to attend, I was going to do my best to mitigate the risk I presented to others in attendance and back home. The plan, therefore, was for two-weeks of isolation in the basement; I would be a tenant in my own home.

My situation was not as uncomfortable as it could have been. When my girlfriend and I first planned my isolation, I was to be confined to my office, where I could work, play, and sleep, the short hallway between my office and the downstairs bathroom, and the bathroom itself. This restraint was loosened to include the entire basement, more than enough room in which to pass two weeks. I absolutely knew that if I came out the other end healthy, I would have experienced the slightest of inconveniences. After spending months being extremely cautious and no small bit apprehensive, I hoped beyond hope to stay healthy and infect anyone else.

After having been away for nearly a week from my girlfriend, upon returning home, I was greeted like a walking sack of toxicity. Well, maybe there was a little warmer, “Glad you’re home,” given, but we went immediately into a distanced existence as I headed straight downstairs. The subsequent two weeks were some of the strangest in what is already an indescribable year.

Each day turned into a cycle of rolling off the office futon (luxurious by “old college futon” standards), cleaning up for the day (shower, shave, try to grasp what is going on in the world), grabbing a breakfast sandwich from the stock in the basement fridge (leftover from the wedding), putting up a room divider to block sight of my “bedroom” while on work video calls (someone actually guessed what was behind the divider), logging off for the day, seeing what is on the menu for dinner (girlfriend was a saint for feeding me), finding a way to occupy my evening (let’s be honest, it was usually video games or a movie), and then going to bed. The strangest part of the whole experience was hearing life go on upstairs. My girlfriend’s kids remained boisterous and playful, making the occasional foray to the first stair landing to try see what I was watching or playing. I could hear my girlfriend on work calls and going about her business as if I did not exist. While we could still game together (voice chat with someone in the same house is weird), our interactions were limited and mostly confined to exploring together in Fallout 76 (and what a great use case for video games while society is flipped upside down). The entire experience felt surreal, being present in the home but only marginally acknowledged. It is a good way to make a person feel inconsequential.

Overall, I had a two-week inconvenience. I stayed healthy. My family stayed healthy, and all the inconvenience occurred within the comfort of my home. I realize my experience is a cupcake compared to what millions around the world have had to endure, most of which I cannot even imagine. This story is just another small contribution, however, to the overall insanity of the year, because when 2020 started, I had zero expectation there would ever be a need to isolate from friends and family because of exposure risk to a vicious virus at the heart of a global pandemic. What is life, though, if not a continuous stream of defied expectations and broken plans. What digs at me the most from isolation, however, is what could have been a two-week vacation for an introvert such as myself, ended up being a lonely fourteen days where the world passed me by.

Interesting Note: On the third day out of isolation I ended up feeling extremely under the weather. I have never slept so much over a two-day span and felt so completely out of it. Given the symptoms and everything going on in the world, I expected the worst and could only laugh at such cruel irony after being so careful and diligent for six months. One negative COVID test later, I am now laughing at how every cough and headache takes on an elevated degree of seriousness.