To find the original price \( p \) of the shirt, we know that the current price of $7.98 is half of the original price. Therefore, we can set up the equation as follows:
\[ \frac{p}{2} = 7.98 \]
To solve for \( p \), we can multiply both sides of the equation by 2:
\[ p = 7.98 \times 2 \]
Now, we can calculate:
\[ p = 15.96 \]
Thus, the original price of the shirt is:
\[ p = 15.96 \text{ dollars} \]