Opinion: We can define the challenges of choosing a college in 2020

Dazed, confused and railroaded with anxiety about our future, accurately depicts the mental frame of millennials and generation Zs these days. It is easy for young adolescents to get caught up in this mentally vicious tornado known as 2020. 

It has now been six months since the outbreak of the Covid-19, and the initial school closures of April in the United States and worldwide. In the beginning, weeks were being crossed off, soon weeks melded into months and now the world is pondering what lies next without a viable vaccine on the horizon.

Many have been robbed of milestone celebrations and others have been denied dignified grievance periods. Now, as we approach 2021, life has once again been halted with the resurgence of Covid-19.

Students everywhere are questioning their next monumental college decisions. With the virus once again erupting, the prospect of another year of online learning is the talk of the hour. Many are pondering taking a gap year and riding out the bleak year ahead. Others are questioning if it is financially feasible or quantifiable to amass student loans when businesses are shutting down and job prospects for the graduating class of 2020 have been nothing but dismal.

Colleges are striving their best to keep the enthusiasm cultivating, as college fairs have evolved into virtual college fairs. Now, more than ever before, there is an abundance of resourceful informational webinars.

The uncertainties of financial aids and the possibility of not having a campus experience have put a damper on college search experiences. The positive take on these virtual college fairs is that it allows students and parents to attend a multitude of virtual college meetings, omitting the high travel costs and time restraint burdens.

Many questions will hopefully be answered, be the fate of standardized testings, the potential decreases in tuitions, the future of college athlete recruits and even perhaps the future of colleges in general. 

As this generation hits a pivotal crossroad in their future, with the world’s detrimental environmental issues at stake, along with our politically divided nation, we must however move forward. We will assume responsibility for our share of resolve to end this madness. Negative distractions need to be set aside, and focus needs to be placed on building a promising future. We will put one foot in front of the other, and march with intention.

Our generation will not be defined by 2020 as our demise, but rather by our tenacity, hard work and resilience that is hailing over our collective minds. We will defy 2020 and we will reclaim our hopes and dreams.