Since March, everyday lives of high schoolers in the United States have changed drastically. Schools shut down, weekend jobs came to a halt and meeting up with friends in person became unadvisable. The general pandemic-related anxieties coupled with the hours of quarantine-time has led to intense introspection. COVID-19 has left a lot of unanswerable questions about the future for students, and may change how some choose to live their adult lives. Some students are finding themselves realizing that they no longer want to pursue what they thought their dream career was, or they may find a new calling with all this time on their hands. 

     For senior Lalina Leung, plans to pursue a career in nursing haven’t changed, but she does “feel more determined to become a nurse since there is a demand for more healthcare workers.” Leung shared, “they also do so much for our community and I want to do the same.”

      Apart from her career plans, COVID-19 has changed the way Leung feels about society. Sometimes, Leung feels our society does a decent job at coming together to help each other, but recently she feels that many are being selfish and are only looking out for themselves. “They still go out and hangout with their friends and it seems like they don’t get that everyone will not be okay if they get the virus.”

      The medical field isn’t the only career space being affected by the virus. Junior Ian Brown said his outlook on a career in music has been impacted. With all the recent virus-related cancellations of concerts, Brown has begun to realize that his dreams within the music field are no longer about performing on stage. Although this realization wasn’t directly linked to the pandemic, seeing how the music industry is being affected has helped Brown realize a path towards a career in music education is a better fit. He states, “I love to perform, but every day? That is less appealing.” 

      As for the future of the music industry, Brown guesses that virtual concerts, although never replacing in-person concerts, will become more popular. Other changes are less predictable, but he believes it will all depend on future technological innovations. 

      COVID-19 is an unmatched event for our generation. Everyone will have to learn how to deal with adapting to their situations while planning on how to best proceed into their own futures.