The Fatal Factor of COVID-19 from the Unheard Youth Narrative

By Serena Lee

I still clearly remember Monday, March 16, 2020. It was an unusually warm March afternoon and after my classes had ended, I, along with many other NYU students, took advantage of this weather to lounge in Washington Square Park. The warm weather and the buzzing excitement for spring break just around the corner uplifted everyone’s moods and I remember that day being one of the happiest days of my spring semester. But a couple hours later, we abruptly received a notice from NYU Communications that student residences would be closed and that “students must be out no later than March 22, and preferably within 48 hours, directing all students to return home for the remainder of the semester.” We were to also “continue holding all classes and examinations remotely through the semester’s end.”

Instantly, I was faced with a plethora of questions that I wasn’t sure how to best approach. I had to decide when to move out and how to bring all my luggage home, while others considered just staying in the city and finding an apartment. I questioned the efficiency and the structure of online classes. How would we be taking exams? What about my extracurriculars? Would I not get to see my friends until next fall, or would there be opportunities to meet up? What about final exams? What would the summer look like? I was met with uncertainty from the daily aspects of my life to future considerations. This uncertainty choked my future prospects and aspirations, leaving me with no visible opportunities to look forward to.

The novelty and impact of the virus has caused unforeseen societal change and economic impacts and new norms have developed. Information about the virus itself was uncertain. The biological marking of this virus was unheard of; no one initially knew of its source. The exposure time, symptoms, and the means of spreading were also unknown. The US, once considered impenetrable, now has more cases and deaths than any other country. The prospect of quarantining for this long seemed unlikely, yet it is the new normal. Working or attending school from home once seemed unfathomable, but it is now going to campus or the office that’s seen as implausible.

Summer — the season of extracurriculars and opportunities for students — passed by with a great uncertainty for many of us. Opportunities slipped out of my hands one by one, with vague remarks on decisions to terminate the internship or my placement “given the current circumstance.” This was just one effect of the uncertainty of the virus. As summer came to an end, countless emails from NYU came, once again filled with uncertain promises and answers. Online and in-person options for classes would be available, then unavailable. On campus housing became available, then unavailable. Colleges would change and reform their standards weekly. During this time, many students and I questioned whether going to school would even be worth it and considered a gap semester. My education was yet another uncertainty.

The start of this pandemic was marked by uncertainty and continues to characterize itself with such uncertainty. As a college student, these uncertainties shroud my prospects. And for the youth narrative, this uncertainty is the lethal factor.

Amongst that uncertainty, I believe that the youth perspective has been ignored, although young people may be one of the groups most affected by the pandemic. While COVID-19 has restructured our everyday life, younger generations have sought to find purpose and some control within these times to continue working towards the ideals and values they hold. The magnitude of the social impacts of such younger generations during this time has been unheard of; national movements and outreach for various social problems have been generated and successful in outreach far greater than previous efforts.

COVID-19 is devastating not only because it has killed millions of people and infected millions more, but also because of its virility in straining the hope and certainty that we once had over our lives. But with this uncertainty has brought out another unforeseen phenomena: the resilience and perseverance of youth. We have rallied to demand change. We have come to understand the importance of good governance, the power of movement, of mechanisms of change, and of the strength to twist the uncertainty of our lives to move forward.

Last year, the US presidential elections had the highest voter turnout as “more Americans voted in the 2020 elections — two-thirds of the voting eligible population — than in any other in 120 years” . The resulting election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, the efforts of the BLM movement, and increased spotlight on societal and environmental issues are all reactions of these newfound awareness and change in our interests and views. I do not think these reactions would be possible without the pressures that we have faced with COVID-19 and the uncertainty that it presented. We wanted to be in power and control of at least the things we could be in charge of and it gave us resolution.

Perhaps this uncertainty of life that we’ve faced as youth is not one that hardens us but rather one that makes us malleable to future challenges and growth. Our youth is one that has been targeted by COVID-19 in terms of our resilience and strength, not simply physically but mentally and emotionally. It is up to us to become immune to such targets and I hold great hope and expectations for youth generations to move forward and to persevere.