interesting humans episode nine
I had the chance recently to sit in a Zoom meeting with one of my two high school senior daughters. It was a zoom call in place of the end of the year banquet for her high school news magazine where seniors are recognized. During normal times it’s filled with awards and speeches from the sponsor teacher (Tracy Anderson, I/H episode six) and sometimes emotional and awkward speeches from the graduating seniors about their experiences. This Zoom meeting didn’t have the usual potluck food and the speeches were shorter. There were fewer tears this year too and maybe that was because the medium precludes the same kind of proximity, the human context of togetherness that the coronavirus lockdown makes impossible.
What amazes me every year I attend this banquet is how engaged, how adaptable and how intelligent these young people are. Their vision of the infinite possibilities for their lives and their appreciation for the things that got them this far is awe inspiring.
What occurred to me the other night is how they show we adults how to be in this world. They take what happens and bend it to make sense for their lives rather than wallowing in a sea of depression or self-pity. No prom? No problem. No graduation ceremony. That’s okay. We’ll have a drive by. No end of the year gatherings at all? We’ll Zoom and take what we can get.
Many people have been deeply affected by the coronavirus and the lockdown. Mental and physical health. Bank accounts and mortgages and jobs. Marriages and family relationships.
There’s no doubt these past few months have drastically changed the paradigm of how most of us view what is a normal life. We adults have the benefit of many birthdays and life experience to contextualize these times. What about these young people
Today’s guests are four high school seniors. I’ve asked them to talk about what their daily lives are like and how their perspectives on their futures has been affected by the pandemic and the lockdown. In their own, eloquent and honest words they share the simple pleasures of family gatherings at dinner time. workouts with siblings, baking, and social distancing walks and auto corrals with friends. These kids are not binge-watching Netflix or sleeping all day
The conversations reveal how they are thinking, exploring, engaging and trying to make sense of a world seemingly run amok. And in an amazing twist, they are adapting and remain optimistic and excited for their futures. They are ready to do what needs to be done to live full lives no matter what comes.
This episode, which I’m calling Pandemic Seniors, runs a bit longer than previous interviews and I hope you can stay until the end because each one of these young people offers something unique. Here, in order, are Loey Jones-Perpich, Yakirah Mitchel, Andrew Lafferty and Ebba Gurney, crossing into adulthood in the time the coronavirus.
Loey Jones-Perpich https://www.emerson.edu/
Yakirah Mitchel https://umich.edu/
Andrew Lafferty https://www.pitt.edu/
Ebba Gurney https://www.scad.edu/
Ella Walker aka WILDES https://www.wildesmusic.com/?fbclid=IwAR13UpycADu7YeCpRb2Gfkw62AUDfijSHQ-uZlDr8mndfTwLIAyIC_XvLR
Website: https://christianrward.com/
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