Diplomas and tests have been cut short, leaving students unprepared for their future plans.  Schools have become ghost towns with sports and clubs unavailable to students. Students come to school with masks and attend school online on remote learning days. It’s hard to complete assignments and stay on top of things when at home because we get distracted easily.

We aren’t motivated. Virtual learning leaves students with difficulty in hearing their teachers and transitioning between online and physically being in school.

WHB junior Avril Gonzalez said, “With all the problems going on around the world, school just doesn’t motivate me enough…nothing is the same.” 

T0 make matters worse, low-income students have a disadvantage of learning online because they can’t afford the technology at home to learn virtually.  The pandemic has caused some families the disadvantage of not being able to manage their finances for higher education, leaving many students feeling the pressure of being an adult before their time. 

Many have been pushed to work to become a source of income for their families because their families can’t support economically. Their futures before and after higher education feels ruined. 

Also, some students learn better at school than at home. They have physical instruction, socialization, and helpful resources provided at school whereas at home they don’t have. 

 Test scores like the SAT and ACT are leaving students stressed and scrambled with their futures.  When having to prepare for SAT or ACT, resources for students can be unavailable leaving students unprepared for this big exam that reflects their future.  

Due to all these unsettled issues, some students are re-thinking their desired career paths. Our minds have been destroying us lately with thoughts concerning our future. The uncertainty of our future affects our choices and decisions because we don’t know what’s to come. 

Certain careers are changing because of Covid-19 which could affect choices and decisions made by students. According to WHB junior Alexandra Robles, who doesn’t plan on changing her desired career path as a teacher,  “I feel as though becoming a teacher will never change because I love kids and working with them.” She still wants to pursue a career in education because it’s something she loves to do. School might not seem as important right now, but we’re trying our best. 

It’s been hard keeping up with school because we aren’t in the right mindset. We come back home from school every day feeling exhausted. Having to wear our masks all day makes school even more tiring, but we can’t do anything about it because it keeps us from spreading anything. 

Our generation is losing focus and motivation which is heartbreaking because we are capable of so much more. We have amazing improved technology and great minds. Optimism and hope are both extremely important right now because it gives us a reason to keep going. 

Alexandra said,  “I definitely have hope for the future, and I am also optimistic about the future because I still don’t know what is coming my way”, nobody knows what’s next but being positive makes it less stressful.

Our generation will change the world because we’re learning new things about ourselves and the world. We are all creating our futures and letting time do its thing.

We have the power to do something great. We have the power to change. Our futures aren’t ruined, they’re just waiting for us to catch up.