It seems as if everyday a Remind message is sent out informing students and parents that there has been yet another positive COVID-19 case on campus. As of Jan. 29, the LISD COVID dashboard shows that Cedar Park has 10 new positive cases and 58 new exposures.  Over winter break, one of these people happened to be PALS teacher, Jared Lippe. While he didn’t get it from being at school, he is still apart of the rising cases at CPHS. 

“I certainly had a mix of emotions when I first learned that I tested positive,” Lippe said. “These ranged from being angry and annoyed that I still caught it after being extremely careful for so many months, all the way to feeling absolutely grateful that my symptoms weren’t as bad as others and that I caught it at a time over the holidays where I was not missing a bunch of school and life happenings.”

People with COVID-19 may or may not experience symptoms, those who do experience fevers, loss of smell and many other unpleasant things. Lippe was on the latter end of the spectrum.

“It was pretty rough, knocked me out for almost two full weeks: borderline fever, overall fatigue, lots of congestion, etc,” Lippe said. “I have never been one to get sick very often, so when I do, it really is a big shift in my life to turn all my attention to healing myself, sleeping, and just hanging in there as it runs its course.”

When school came back in session after break and Lippe still felt sick, he had to return to teaching from home. However, since Lippe already had experience from the first three weeks of school, the transition wasn’t all that hard.

“[Switching to virtual] wasn’t too bad since I’d started off the school year at home back in the fall,” Lippe said. “It was just falling back into the different routines of teaching from home.”

Having been quarantined at home, Lippe said he was a bit sad that he can’t see people at school or even just outside his home. Not only was he separated from people by six feet, but he was not able to see anyone at all.

“[I miss] getting out of the house for a change of scenery,” Lippe said. “[I also miss] spending time with people and with our awesome school community.”

While being stuck at home is not the most ideal situation, there is still some good to be seen. According to Lippe, he was able to do many things such as reading books, organizing old photos, and even some yoga.

“There are plenty of positives of being quarantined during this time, as it’s been teaching me to tune-in to my more introverted sides of myself and slow down,” Lippe said. “I’ve spent great time with my wife and family, and have been grateful to be able to embrace these quiet times without the rush of doing and going and always shining out my extroverted energies! Plus, who knew I could cook?”

Lippe felt sick from the virus for a total of 12 days. Even after getting better, Lippe said he still needed a week to fully recover from the symptoms of the virus. Knowing firsthand what COVID-19 can be like, Lippe strongly urges people to stay safe.

“Make good choices when not feeling well and spending any time with others, and have a plan in place if you even think you may be ill or have been around others that have been,” Lippe said. “These are unique times we are in, and we are all in charge of steering our own learning and growth as never before. Stay positive, keep hopeful, and be sure to keep checking-up on the good people in your life.”