So the little bug settled in my body, paying no attention to the two doses of vaccine. I guess even viruses find me atractive.
What do you think the symptoms are? Headache? Pain? Difficulies with breathing? Nah, I got none of these. My symptoms were clumsiness, acting and feeling stupid, talking too much and saying or almost saying stupid things. (along with coughing, of course)
It didn't make big damage, physically. But I'm staying home nevertheless because the bug's strength is more of a legal, moral, and psychological strength.
When it first got in, I believe at the end of 2021, and because I was camping with friends at that time so words like pain and ache... are out of the question, all it did to me was make me act (or feel) stupid and clumsy. I remember burning my own shoe by the campfire, something only amateurs are supposed to do. I also remember getting tricked into taking a sip of vodka mixed with juice, even though the friend that tricked me (because I don't drink) gave me a hint that I would get if I was in my normal mental condition.
One more stupid decision I made was when I went to work on Monday and only told my boss about my concerns over my own health. Naturally, he dismissed them and told me I should wait a few days before taking the test. One more proof of how much they care!
The next day, I also went to work, but I left early and told him I'm taking the test, not asking for permission this time. Honestly, I wasn't feeling bad, only sleepy but the cough was annoying me so I wanted to make sure I was ok and take the rest of the day off. Because I was almost sure the result would be negative.
The test was positive. and here I am more than a week since the symptoms started and five days since the test result, still feeling well, but still coughing.
I'm taking the time off to finally bring my life to order and reorganise my priorities, cutting loose the outdated parts of me and taking care of the part that need growing.
Now lets go through the story from the beginning:
Once upon a time, there was a small bug. The bug tried to ruin our lives, making us afraid of each other.
Personally, it succeeded in making new bareers in front of me. Made it impossible to immigrate. MAde it so hard to find a new job, and when I did, it made it so difficult to keep my job and keep a healthy personal-professional life balance. So I lost that job.
After months of thinking and self-exploring and looking for other options, I decided to postpone my ambitious dreams and focus on what I can achieve. So I started a new job and decided to keep it until I don't need it anymore. Keeping it made me let go of a few other identities, even temporarily until they fit in with that new one that overweighed them.
They would manifest every once in a while and take the time they can lay hands on to prove they're still alive.
Some of those identities are blogging, outdoor activities, hanging out with friends...
All this chaos and the little bug hasn't even made physical contact with me. It was just an idea. A reason why life has changed.
I am one of those who believe in statistics. Not the ones that the media displays to convince us of whatever suits it, mind you, but the ones we get from the source. I have friends and family who work in hospitals. They told me that the vaccines (even though they might have side effects) are effective against the little bug.
They don't necessarily kill it before it settles in the body, but they limit its effect on the body. People who are not vaccinated are more likely to need hospitals, and once in the hospital, are more likely to need oxygen, then more likely to die.
Trust me on this, no one wants to need a hospitable, especially a Tunisian one. They can get so overcrowded and under-equipped you may come out of them worse than you get in.
So I took the vaccine. Not to say it was the right choice or to judge those who chose differently. I believe that everyone has a choice to take concerning the little bug and the vaccine and what scares him the most between the two.
I don't know if it's the vaccine or my Immune Systeme that saved me from any complications with the Virus, but here's another chance for me to express my gratefulness for not needing to be hospitalised.
Staying at homefor days is annoying but it also has advantages and I'll make sure to make the best out of it.