March 13th, 2020. This is the date the world came to a halt for many people. For Kavya Jain, the world came to halt way back in the summer of 2017.

Jain was looking forward to all the senior year activities, senior beach day and senior prank day specifically, she had waited for all throughout high school, but she unfortunately contracted lime disease, during the summer before her senior year. Jain had been helping a friend with a photography project and the two girls had been wandering around the Connecticut woods when Jain was bit by a tick. Three months later Jain was diagnosed with chronic lime disease.

“I spent my senior year of high school bedbound,” Jain said. While her friends were waving at each other in the school halls, agonizing over exams and putting together lists of colleges to apply to, Jain worked with a tutor in her bedroom. While friends went to senior beach day, senior prom and participated in a grade wide water fight throughout town, Jain took antibiotics, antivirals and herbal treatments and traveled throughout her home state, Connecticut, and the rest of New England visiting different doctors.

Jain had a lot of goals, both academic and social for her senior year. The academic goals were easier for Jain to achieve than her social goals. Jain applied to five colleges, including University of Miami, and once she was accepted to UM she was dead set on attending.

Unlike most students, Jain was unsure if she would be able to attend her dream school in the fall due to her health. Jain called admissions and ended up breaking down over the phone, begging them for a deferral. She was pleasantly surprised when she was given the option of taking two years to get her health back on track.

“Having that contract was magical,” she said.

Her social goals were much more difficult to achieve. Jain was unable to attend the events organized by her school exclusively for seniors.

“I deleted social media because I got so sad,” she said. Seeing her friends having fun on social media made her sad and angry, and those feelings her not helpful to Jain’s recovery. Jain was able to attend her graduation but was in a haze due to the combination of the painkillers she took to be able to attend and the early summer heat.

After finishing her senior year, Jain took an unwanted gap year.

“I wanted to go straight to college, but my health could not support it at that time,” she said. In her time at home, Jain learned a lot of random things, specifically cooking. She had to follow a dairy free, gluten free, sugar free, oat free and peanut free diet and was very limited in what she could eat. On the bright side, Jain found a love for homemade granola.

“You can make it for any occasion,” she said.

In August 2019, Jain and her family moved to Houston, Texas, and Jain was looking forward to finally going to college. Unfortunately, Jain had to take a second gap year, during which the pandemic hit.

Even before the pandemic hit, Jain’s family took extra precautions to keep her safe and healthy. Her parents avoided contact with anyone who even had a mild cold.

“I think I did catch one or two colds from my brother because he still had to go to school,” she said. Once the pandemic hit, her family doubled down on their precautions.

While teens around the country sat six feet apart in backyards and empty parking lots, Jain’s parents wouldn’t let her go anywhere.

“They were extra harsh on the guidelines,” she said. Once again, Jain was stuck inside while others were able to socialize in some degree. After spending so much time isolated, Jain developed an “It’s going to be what it’s going to be” attitude. Despite this outlook, Jain spent her freshmen year at UM virtual.

Finally in Fall 2021, Jain was able to come to Miami and have her first somewhat normal school year since her senior year of high school.

“I was super ready for it,” she said. Despite her excitement, the thought of being 22 and a sophomore made her nervous as most sophomores are 19 and 20. Jain also worried her unique life experience would isolate her from her peers. Even though there were differences between her and her peers, Jain was able to connect with them, specifically over the fact that they both missed out on senior year events, Jain because of her illness and the other sophomores because of the pandemic.

While Jain was excited to come to Miami she knew she still had to be careful when it came to her health. She spoke with her doctor and made a contingency plan in case she contracted Covid. While Jain has not contracted Covid, she did contract bronchitis during her first in-person semester at UM.

“You can prepare for some things in life, but you just have to live life at some point,” she said.