I was diagnosed with COVID-19 on 25th February, along with my mum. We were ordered to stay at home for self-quarantine for 7 days. So, we stayed in our own room. The other family members were also ordered to be quarantined at home for the next 5 days.

I had a sore throat, cough, body ache, headache, runny nose, and blocked nose. The lucky thing was I had got no fever. It would be worst if I had had a fever.

On the first day of room quarantine, I took all necessary medication such as cough, fever, blocked nose, and runny nose. I also took extra supplements to boost my immune system and ease those symptoms. Although I hate taking those pills, I was so sick that I couldn’t think much. I didn’t have an appetite to eat, but I knew my body needed energy from food, so I forced myself to eat and take medicines afterward.

I had a really bad body ache that I could feel my bone was aching all over, and I couldn’t stand, sit, sleep, or walk well. When I lay on my side, I could feel my butt was aching like I did 300 reps of squat. When I lay straight, I felt like my legs were going to tear into 2. I couldn’t sleep well at night either due to having a blocked nose that caused me mild difficulty breathing. I kept applying medicated oil around my nose to help ease breathing.

After the help of medication, I got better the next day. I got back on track with exercising, but I kept it easy and quick to let my body rest more. I drank plenty of water and got plenty of sleep. I probably sleep almost the entire day and night. Unlike my mum, my taste bud was still working fine. She had lost her taste bud on the second day of her quarantine.

I was feeling pretty good on the third day of the quarantine. I had the leftover food for breakfast. I was working from home during this period. When I wasn’t sitting in front of my laptop, I would find myself sitting in an armchair reading novel.

Around the fifth day of the quarantine, I felt bored staying inside the room. I missed my dogs badly. I did everything in my room for the past 4 days – eat, sleep, read, work, watch movies, poop, peep. I felt so lonely. I wanted to see my family and my dogs. I didn’t feel like writing, painting, or anything except sleeping. I just wanted to end my day as soon as possible and end this quarantine as quick as I could.

I used to love the silence. I love the sound of crickets and birds chirping outside of my window. I loved enjoying a silent day. I also loved painting in silence. But the silence felt different during the quarantine. It makes me feel anxious and lonely. It reminded me of how long it had been since I was locked inside the room.

I was extremely excited on the seventh day. It was my last day of room quarantine. I had been longing to step out of the room, out of the house, and enjoy. This was one of the few moments I felt grateful for in my life. For being able to be recovered, be healthy again, play with my dogs, spend time with my family and do whatever I want.

First thing first, I made myself a cup of coffee. I had been drinking only plain water during the entire quarantine. Then, I dressed up nicely and headed out to buy plant-based milk to make myself a cup of matcha latte.

It was my first time making a matcha latte. I usually drink matcha without milk, but I had a strong craving for matcha latte. The drink wasn’t really delicious. I put too much matcha powder, and it turned out very bitter. So, I ended up adding more syrup to it. I had a deep house cleaning with mum. Since we were diagnosed with COVID-19, we wanted to start fresh and clean. I also made myself an avocado toast. I hadn’t been able to cook or make myself anything during the quarantine, so I wanted to get back on home-cooked meals.

It was an exhausting day. I had to work from home while deep cleaning the house. But I enjoyed it very much. Even though I still restrict myself from going out too often, I loved being able to walk freely around the house and the neighborhood. Being able to see the trees, touch the flowers, feel the raindrop, and breathe in the fresh air. I was really grateful that mum and I got to recover quickly, and now, we are healthy as ever.