With the pandemic mostly in the rearview mirror, high school students are now looking toward the future. We talked to five from private high schools about everyday life, social media, career ambitions, and what they wish adults knew about being a teenager today. The students share an optimistic look at the road ahead.
How has the pandemic changed your schooling experience?
Kam: I think for seniors, being out in the real world and on our own is super scary. We essentially missed an entire year of high school. We missed building relationships, meeting new people. Those years could have been going toward our formation later on in college and the real world.
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Mikaela: The main thing that hasn’t gone back to normal is sports and student support. Getting people to come to games has been a priority, and we didn’t have to focus on that before. Every week, we have to say, “Hey, guys, come to the games, please.” We do theme nights, and tomorrow there is a playoff lacrosse game, where we’ll have a gift card giveaway. I remember going to games in middle school, and there were so many people. There were chants and pep rallies. It felt like more of a community.
John: I didn’t really talk to many people during my freshman year because of masks, but I think now people just want to be more social.
How do you spend your time outside of the classroom?
Zoey: I am a cheerleader. I’ve been cheering since I was 4 for my brother’s team, and I love it. But this year, I told myself I’m going to be more involved in clubs.
John: Tennis is my job, and I practice a lot. But honestly, just hanging out with friends. I also play video games once in a while.
Isabelle: I’ve been creating a documentary about the varsity girls basketball team with a friend from digital journalism. I’m the manager for the team, and we decided a year ago to make this documentary because the team won two district championships in a row, and we knew there was going to be a really good story.
“I don’t think AI could ever replace human thought. I think it’s pretty easy to tell when you’re looking at regurgitated information.”
What role does social media play in your life?
Mikaela: It’s been really positive for me. I’ve been able to talk to family and friends who live in other places. The pandemic, I can imagine, would have been a lot more difficult if I wasn’t able to text my friends. I think now it’s a tool to share information and awareness about things in terms of social issues. It’s been really important in gaining support for certain causes that I otherwise would have no idea about.
John: I use it mostly for communication, but if you’re comparing yourself to others on Instagram, it can become an issue.
Isabelle: I’ve been able to navigate social media in a way that works for me. For me, it’s been super beneficial, and I enjoy having access to promote live videos and find trends and be inspired by other people.
Kam: I think social media is a really big part of our world today, especially after the pandemic. I think being away from people caused people to be on their phones a lot more, and that’s having some lingering effects.
Do you have a sense of future career ambitions?
Kam: I’ve always been interested in medicine, so anything in the medical field. My grandma was a nurse and always told me her nursing stories growing up. She bought me this little cart that they carry around with medical supplies, and I always pushed it around the house for fun.
Isabelle: I just want to tell stories, so whether that be through being a producer, a director, or being on a marketing team, that’s the dream. I decided to take a class called film studies, and that’s where it all started. Then I applied to be in the digital journalism program and was accepted, but I’ve always been interested in movies and video. I have a twin sister, and we used to play with dolls and re-create home movies and make short films with our iPads.
Mikaela: I want to do something in the STEM field. I love humanities, like English and history, but math is my strongest subject and the one I enjoy most… I’m sure when I get to college—everyone tells me they changed their major, like, 10 times. Even my parents, who are both doctors, had no idea until junior year.
“I think adults forget how it was to be a teenager. They forget how hard it is and how stressful it can be to be in high school.”
What do you think about generative AI?
John: I don’t think AI could ever replace human thought. I think it’s pretty easy to tell when you’re looking at regurgitated information.
Zoey: I’ve never experimented with it, but the other day I received an email that students had to sign saying we could use AI for educational purposes but not for plagiarism. Basically, they don’t want AI writing your papers.
Mikaela: I went to graduation, and one of the speakers used [AI] to write the speech. He talked about this is what [AI] said, but [it’s] missing the human emotion and importance of gratitude… My English teacher has been talking about it a lot, and it’s changed the way we submit work. We use Google Docs, so they can track how we’re typing things in.
What do you wish adults knew about the high school experience?
Zoey: I think adults forget how it was to be a teenager. They forget how hard it is and how stressful it can be to be in high school.
Kam: It’s not easy. There’s so much going on in our world with technology and social media.
Isabelle: With everything that’s going on in the world today, all the craziness and stuff that adults experience for the first time, you have to keep in mind that we, as teens, are experiencing this for the first time, too. We’re younger and still developing, so have patience and compassion for us.
