Does Finally Being a Young Adult Scare You? Seniors Share Their Thoughts
January 18, 2022
Do you ever stress about what your future might look like? Are you really ready to graduate and face the world as a full-fledged adult?
Teens worrying about what life might look like for them after they graduate high school is nothing new, but for this year’s seniors who are about to face the real world, it is a bit different. For these young adults, the pandemic has affected everything over the past two years, including their growth and maturity.
Adulthood can, quite frankly, be overwhelming. For some, adulthood comes too fast and forces them to leave the nest too soon, while for some others, it was just what they needed.
Marquese Lancaster and Angel Llyod are seniors at Paint Branch High School who have offered their viewpoints on growing up and how they feel about moving out into the real world.
How do you feel about graduating and
moving on with the next chapter of your life- adulthood?
Marquese: “I’m honestly excited and scared at the same time. I get to enjoy real life and freedom but be a grown man at the same time now.”
Angel: “I have mixed feelings. A part of me is very excited and happy for the future and another part of me feels like everything is being rushed due to covid, but overall I’m ready to see what the future holds.”
Do you think/feel ready to go out into the world? Do you feel like you need more time?
Marquese: “Yes I’m ready and there is no more time
left so therefore I need to be ready and face the truth.”
Angel: “I really don’t know if I’m ready to go into the real world as a young adult but I’m excited to see how I grow as an individual and how all the experiences of this year and last year affect that.”
How do you think the pandemic has affected your overall readiness?
Marquese: “The pandemic experience was a wak
e-up call to never push things to the last minute because there may never be another chance.”
Angel: “The pandemic definitely did affect my readiness for adulthood. I feel like once the pandemic hit, those two years were kind of a setback from a lot of experiences and us students just being stuck in the house the whole time.”
Do you feel as if the pandemic has put a pause on your growth?
Marquese: “The pandemic helped me grow more
. I learned to love myself more, focused on being my own boss, and creating dreams that came true like starting my own clothing business.”
Angel: “I definitely did think that the pandemic put a pause on my growth but this year I think we’ve had a little more freedom in the sense of leaving the house and doing a little more. I was able to get an internship and a job.”
Did you grow or feel like you learned something during quarantine that would help you in the real world?
Marquese: “Yes, I feel like it gave me time to learn how to provide and be successful.”
Angel: “Due to the pandemic I think I – and many other people my age – learned a lot about themselves. We were in the house and not able to leave and do things we usually do. This gave everybody an opportunity to learn about themselves and their hobbies.”
Do you feel like the pandemic really made you th
ink you are ready and really need to get going with life?
Marquese: “Yes, I prefer it not happen but life comes with obstacles that block success and happiness so it was a pretest on how to handle sticky situations.”
Angel: “I definitely do think that the pandemic made me want to do more with my life because it was a wake-up call like being stuck in the house and not being able to leave really made you sit in your room and be like “‘please give me something to do.’” Before the pandemic, I wasn’t thinking about my future much. I was in 10th grade having fun. I think the only thing that was really on my mind was a prom dress but now it’s way more than that. It’s the career I
want to go into. It’s what I want to do to make money.”
