Life-Defining Times
Generations are defined, shaped, and even named by when they are born or are coming of age—the Depression, World War II, the baby boomers. Youth of today will be known for living through COVID-19.
Addie Anderson
Freshman at Davidson
What was the worst result of COVID for you personally this year?
Personally, the hardest struggle of COVID-19 for me has been on my academic experiences. Ending senior year on Zoom without getting to see my friends, teachers, and coaches in person was disheartening. Even giving my Youth Sunday sermon got impacted—truly all of the big events that cumulate to the end of high school had been impacted. The end of senior year is certainly something I had been looking forward to for a long time, knowing how exciting and fun it would all be. And then having to come to college with strict guidelines and parameters was also difficult to learn how to navigate a new environment and life on top of COVID-19.
“...not being able to see people face-to-face... made me appreciate how much joy seeing those I care brings me..."”
ADDIE ANDERSON
What good thing, if any, do you think resulted for you?
I think some really great truths have come to light during COVID-19 for everyone. Personally the most clear one for me is that it has made me more aware of how important my relationships are to me. The restraint of not being able to see people face-to-face as I’d have liked to in those initial months made me appreciate truly how much joy seeing those I care for brings me and how the support of others is what really does get us through even the hard experiences like a global pandemic.
If you have children in your family in twenty to twenty-five years, what do you think you will tell them about living through COVID?
I’m sure I’ll tell my children how I never had to experience anything like it before and certainly how much it impacted such a pivotal moment in life for me (ending high school, starting college) but how it also brought some really great new things, like a new outlook, unique opportunities, and experiences no one else has had before.
Quinton Cables
Freshman at Georgia Tech
What was the worst result of COVID for you personally this year?
The worst result of the virus was the destruction of my senior year (high school) and the online college classes.
What good thing, if any, do you think resulted for you?
A good result is that I had a job during the virus where my hours were actually increased.
If you have children in your family in twenty to twenty-five years, what do you think you will tell them about living through COVID?
If I have children in twenty to twenty-five years, I will tell them that it was something no one had ever seen before and that hopefully, they will not have to live through something like it.
George Alford
Freshman at Washington and Lee
What was the worst result of COVID for you personally this year?
The worst result of COVID for me this year was not being able to say a proper goodbye to friends I had known for years. The student body at my school was still under the impression that in-person classes would resume when they announced a trial run of the virtual format. The school ended up moving the rest of the semester virtual on that day, so we never did have another day of in-person classes. I wasn’t able to really say goodbye to friends I had known since early elementary school, and that was really hard. I just wish I had known that the last day of classes was the last time I would see many of my friends.
“The pandemic taught me that anything I love can be taken away in an instant and that I have to start appreciating what I have now...”
GEORGE ALFORD
What good thing, if any, do you think resulted for you?
Other than my fantastic piano skills, one good thing that came out of COVID is tied to my worst result of COVID. I learned (or rather relearned) the importance of appreciating the present. The pandemic taught me that anything I love can be taken away in an instant and that I have to start appreciating what I have now before it is taken away. I have tried to focus on making sure I do that during this first term of college, and I think I am doing well at it.
If you have children in your family in twenty to twenty-five years, what do you think you will tell them about living through COVID?
I will tell my family that living through COVID demonstrated the selflessness of people around me. Simple things like wearing a mask, canceling gatherings, or enduring Zoom work and school are sacrifices that had to be made primarily for someone else’s benefit. Especially as a young person, the risk that I developed a severe case of COVID was low (although still a real risk), so most of the precautions that I took were to protect other members of the community. I will tell my family that everyday selfless acts should become the new normal and not only occur during a pandemic.
Mae Busko
Junior at Holy Innocents’ School
What was the worst result of COVID for you personally this year?
The worst part of COVID for me personally was not getting to see my friends and missing out on things that would usually happen at school, like our annual spring festival.
What good thing, if any, do you think resulted for you?
One good thing that resulted for me was that I was able to interact with people in a different way and was also able to try out new interests.
If you have children in your family in twenty to twenty-five years, what do you think you will tell them about living through COVID?
I would tell my grandchildren COVID changed a lot. It ended or suspended some old traditions, such as a regular form of graduation, but it also started a lot of new things—like wearing masks!
Evie Earnest
Senior at the Westminster Schools
What was the worst result of COVID for you personally this year?
The worst thing was having online school for the second semester of my junior year. I realized how much I liked being in person for my classes and seeing my friends every day. It was very difficult to have to quarantine away from them! Also, lots of traditions about my senior year of high school this fall have been ruined because of COVID, which has been very hard and upsetting. This year is so different from what I envisioned and is not what I was looking forward to since I was little.
What good thing, if any, do you think resulted for you?
I got to spend more time with my family before I leave for college next year. I also picked up some newer hobbies, like baking and cooking.
If you have children in your family in twenty to twenty-five years, what do you think you will tell them about living through COVID?
I think I’ll share with them how it brought our community together despite being separated from one another. We have all had to work together and be there for each other during this tough time. I’ll also share stories about how my friends and I had to find new ways to connect, like having socially distanced picnics on closed golf courses or, instead of hanging out in person, having group Zoom sessions on Friday nights.
