From rethinking college or future career plans to struggling with mental health, teens are creating a new normal as they attend online school and grow accustomed to a pandemic that has forced them to see more of family and less of friends and teachers.

A year into the coronavirus pandemic, teenagers share what it’s like to be a young person in America today and what they’re looking forward to in a post-pandemic world.

Photo: Rosem Morton

Few professions have been more upended by the pandemic than teaching. As school districts vacillate between in-person, remote, and hybrid models of learning, teachers find themselves concerned for their health and scrambling to do their jobs effectively.

For students considering a profession in turmoil, the disruptions have seeded doubts. Kianna Ameni-Melvin knows this reality firsthand. During the pandemic, she started questioning her decision to become a teacher and began researching roles with transferable skills.