Members of Gen Z came of age during the pandemic, as a year-plus of remote school meant time away from their friends and classmates. For many of them, it also brought an opportunity to reflect on and engage with how they want to change the world, from protesting climate change to supporting their local communities to having honest conversations about racism. In 2021, many returned to in-person school and social lives, bringing their values and resolve with them.
Source of Light
Members of Generation Z discuss their vision of the future
Fathima Garcia, 18
Seattle, WA
When I think about the future, I want to start with my community. I want to be a source of light and knowledge for them. Last year, I planned a vaccination site at my school. We put up fliers in Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Cantonese, and Somali, and at the vaccination site, we had student translators. People will trust you when you’re doing something because you’re from where they’re from: You understand their needs when you also need those things yourself. Being from the community, knowing their needs, and being able to bring that to them, that’s important. When we think of change, we think of it on a larger scale, but being involved in your own community can lead to a greater national involvement.
Enjl Himoya, 18
Hilo, HI
The pandemic gave me an opportunity to reflect on my values and what I care about. Who am I in society, and what is my job as a young person that will inherit these problems? What can I do myself to create change? People from the mainland may know “aloha” as just a greeting, but here in Hawaii, aloha is compassion. Fundamental reform and radical change are necessary too, of course, but the best way you can create change is to develop a greater sense of compassion. When we start to show kindness to each other, it allows us to actually listen to each other, which allows us to work together.
Manal Ali, 18
Fort Wayne, IN
After the pandemic, I’ve learned to look at my future as a mini-bucket list. I do have a big goal of going to med school and being a doctor, and I hope to open a business once I’m older to hire ex-felons. But in the meantime, I make a bucket list for the month. My goals for the next month are to find a job, keep up with my biology club, and finish my semester with all A’s. The mini-bucket lists help me feel more confident, because I remember the things I’ve actually accomplished. If I only think of my life as about being a doctor, then I won’t be satisfied until I get there. But if I feel satisfied from my weekly and monthly goals, I think I’ll be happy.
For the first time ever, generation z was searched more than millennials in several U.S. states in 2021.
Robert James Ellis III, 18
New Orleans, LA
My main goal is to become the president. But for our generation, everything is so fast-paced, so I think the challenge we have is to slow down and understand that it’s a process. When you look at social media standards, it feels like if we’re not successful by 25, we’re going to die. It’s so easy to get overwhelmed. In that way, I think the slowdown of the pandemic was actually a good thing, because it forced us to understand that we aren’t the only ones feeling this way. We have time. When we can learn that, we’ll be better off as a generation.
Katie Iverson, 18
Fargo, ND
As a generation, people my age are on the same page about needing to hear each other out and be open-minded. I’m from a textbook North Dakota, middle-class, white, Norwegian, Lutheran family, but I go to a very diverse school. I started high school, and I was sitting next to classmates wearing hijabs. We had that difference, but the more we talked about it, the more the difference between us wasn’t that big. So often, we tiptoe around the big elephant in the room, whether it’s politics or a world problem, because we have different backgrounds. But if we help each other understand, instead of thinking about how you’re personally going to gain, you start to think about the collective group.
Emma Vi Maxwell, 16
Tahlequah, OK
I remember watching news about the big oil spill on the Gulf Coast in 2010, when I was six or seven. I felt so bad for that ecosystem, and I thought a lot about how we could get it cleaned up in time. Now, we feel environmental changes in Oklahoma. The weather is really unpredictable; in the past year, we’ve had a lot of really harsh late freezes for the plants. That directly impacts people in my town, because our electricity and gas bills go way up. I want to try to find people who share my beliefs about the environment and who want to take action.
