The rumor is that a COVID-19 test feels like it’s hitting your brain. The reality is that it’s not that bad if you want to know whether or not you’ve contracted the virus.

   Getting quarantined has not been fun, nor ideal, but I’d rather be safe than sorry, and that’s why I got tested via nasal swab. In all honesty, the registration for an appointment is worse than the test itself. Be prepared to answer a slew of questions, and provide what feels like an unnecessary amount of information. On slide six of questions I was doubtful that it would ever end.

   A few days after setting up my appointment, as well as my dad’s, we headed over to Advent Health (just the rapid-testing site that we happened to choose) and walked inside. After confirming our phone numbers, we waited about 45 minutes in the car for our appointments, getting inside about an hour after my original appointment time and 50 minutes after my dad’s. Being led into the room, the doctors were very nice and made small talk while explaining the process of taking our tests and waiting for results.

   The test itself isn’t what people first explained it to be. It was uncomfortable, but not anywhere near unbearable. The swab lasted all of 5 seconds and, although it made me tear up a little, but I’ll be going for another test soon to confirm my negative results. The results came about 30 minutes after my test, and I was handed a piece of paper with “NEGATIVE” highlighted.