Last week, I FINALLY got through the Larimer County Department of Health's vaccine portal to schedule my first dose of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine. This came after a year of hoping, waiting and wishing for something to pull us out of this pandemic; most of all, I was dying to get back to live music. The feeling of being packed in like sardines with other Colorado music lovers at venues like The Aggie or Red Rocks was a feeling I'd been sorely missing.

I went about my week like normal. I spent time with my boyfriend. Days later, he let me know he'd been exposed to COVID-19 by someone at his work and therefore, I'd need be tested. I got a negative test. Score! Then, a sore throat. I got another test.

Positive. 

Goodbye, COVID-19 vaccine: That appointment went to someone else, thankfully, and I hope they use their dose well. Hello, four walls of my 600 square foot apartment, for the next 10 days, at least.

I immediately began to prepare for working from home, but as a radio DJ, that can be pretty difficult. I'm just a normal girl living in a small apartment in Fort Collins: I don't have a home studio or a fancy microphone; I have a MacBook and a relatively steady internet connection. The first day of recording, I made do (you may have heard me recording live from my coat closet: listen today live on 99.9 the Point at 3:00 p.m.).

Other than that, luckily, I have company: The aforementioned boyfriend has been here to make sure I don't go out of my mind wandering the tiny square footage of my apartment. I'm very lucky: Some have roommates they may potentially put in danger, but I must admit, while I usually love living alone, I have definitely seen the benefits of having some daily company since this began.

Everything was pretty normal at first: I only had one day experiencing a fever and then it passed, and I thought I had dodged the whole 'losing your taste and smell' thing. Nope. As I scooped a bite of salad into my mouth last night, I realized I couldn't taste any of it. Within one hour, my taste had vanished and as hungry as I am, I don't want to waste food on someone who can't enjoy it.

Today, I feel fine: On day four, I've exercised without totally losing my breath, and while I don't have my taste or smell, I'm not feeling overly exhausted. I'm a lot luckier than most, and that's very important to remember to avoid spiraling into depression. Some have it much, much worse than this.

If you are going through this alone, please comment or reach out: I can imagine how hard that must be and it's important to remember to use your resources and reach out to your support system as much as you can. I am very lucky to have the people I love around me helping me through this, and I'm also lucky to have mild symptoms. One thing I've learned is that just because I'm over the pandemic doesn't mean it's over. Just because vaccines are here, that doesn't mean you can't get it....

...and even if you finally got through that dang LCDHE vaccine portal, life can still be unfair. I'll continue to try and look on the bright side, and see the light at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel...and I hope you do, too.

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LOOK: Answers to 30 common COVID-19 vaccine questions

While much is still unknown about the coronavirus and the future, what is known is that the currently available vaccines have gone through all three trial phases and are safe and effective. It will be necessary for as many Americans as possible to be vaccinated in order to finally return to some level of pre-pandemic normalcy, and hopefully these 30 answers provided here will help readers get vaccinated as soon they are able.

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