The Coronavirus pandemic hit every global news outlet’s headlines overnight. Everyone’s life was put on pause as the virus consumed peoples’ lives. It felt like a situation you would only see in movies or hear about in your history class. That is why when it crept its way into my household it was shocking to say the least.

When the outbreak of COVID-19 took place back in March, I was in Austin and we went immediately into lockdown. As the virus progressed, my mom became even more and more worried and we were almost never allowed to leave our neighborhood. Along with the millions of stories that circulated about this pandemic, my mother had her own health problems that would make her very vulnerable if she was diagnosed with COVID-19.

After having spent countless weeks at home enclosed within four walls, like almost everyone else in the world, I started losing hope. We had planned to go to Beirut, Lebanon but obviously many complications occurred and our flight kept getting delayed. It was hard enough moving to a whole new continent with a new culture and traditions, imagine having to stay home all the time miles away from home and deprived of all sorts of interactions. So we took it day by day not knowing what was in store.

Soon enough, in the beginning of the summer season, my sister, my mom and I were on a flight to Beirut, but of course with intense precautions. Upon our arrival we had to quarantine for a week which extended our urge to see our loved ones even further, but still we held onto our hopes. Once we began going out and about we would go to very limited places and fully masked and at social distances. After a few months of seeming peace, things started deteriorating. All of a sudden, on a Wednesday morning, my grandmother tested positive for COVID-19.

“It felt as though my body was too weak to function” my grandma said about the virus. “The virus ate me up inside and made me grow weaker and weaker everyday.”

There was a whirlwind of emotions going around my household for weeks on end. As time passed by we were unsure of what would happen to her health. Eventually, after having suffered a few weeks, she tested negative. Very soon after things had gotten back to normal, I was sucked back into the spiral that is COVID-19. All my friends that I have been hanging out with over the past five months were attacked by the virus, luckily I tested negative.

Ever since, we have been taking it day by day and if there is one thing I learnt after having undergone my experience, is that we do not know what the future holds so we should always make the best of every situation.