Penn State Student Gets COVID-19, Changes Her Outlook On Going Into Public, Meeting New People
Jackie McKeon, days after hanging out with a friend at her apartment in early October, woke up with a dry throat. She had been convincing herself every week that she had COVID-19, as she was paranoid about the virus, and so she tried to keep the thoughts at bay.
“But then I started to get a small headache, and then the Thursday after that Saturday, I felt sick. The headache was pretty bad,” said McKeon, a junior at Penn State. “That was the day where I was like, ‘I really don’t feel well.’ So I went and got tested, and then the next morning it was positive.”
While McKeon’s symptoms ended up being mild, her fight against coronavirus made her more aware of those around her and in her own words, more considerate.
When McKeon’s roommates and friends found out she had contracted the virus, their reactions to the news were to be expected.
“It was fear, because we are roommates so I was scared for myself, and then I was also scared for her,” Shayna Berman said. “Just because it’s so unknown and it affects everyone differently.”
Friend Keally Haushalter was “sad,” for McKeon. Being in isolation for 10 days mentally takes a toll, she said.
“She’s a champ though, so I wasn’t too concerned about her having too many difficulties with it in the short run,” Haushalter said. “I would call her and check in pretty frequently.”
McKeon was lucky, as her symptoms only included fatigue, headaches, post-nasal drip, a slight cough and throat dryness. Her symptoms only lasted for about a week, and she went into isolation in Eastview with Berman.
While Berman and McKeon were placed into different rooms, they still found ways to make the best of the situation.
“I was in isolation as well just because of the exposure,” Berman said. “But, we FaceTimed almost every single day, and I remember me and a bunch of our other mutual friends were in quarantine at the same time… we stayed in contact regularly.”
Upon leaving Eastview with no symptoms, McKeon’s outlook and approach to interactions in the pandemic had changed. While the virus didn’t leave her with any physical long-term effects, one result of her experience was her increased mindfulness towards others. McKeon was more aware of the possibility of giving others COVID-19, and was more cautious when dealing with others in public spaces.
“She definitely had less inhibitions about going out and hanging out with people and just going into public spaces… it enabled her to better sympathize with other people,” Berman said.
For McKeon, the pandemic has made her more thoughtful about her actions and the situations she puts herself in.
“I feel like just the whole experience of this pandemic has been a huge ethical dilemma in everything that I do,” McKeon said. “Cause everywhere I go, every place I go I’m hyper aware of who’s there, who I’m interacting with, just so I reduce the chance of giving it to someone else as best as I can — because that was my worst fear. So, I guess if anything it just taught me to be uber considerate of other people.”
