It’s been a while since we published our last issue, and I’m sorry for the long delay. Senior year has proved too busy after all, and I lost myself in exams, mountains of homework, and training for a half-marathon. But lately, I’ve been inspired to reinitiate this paper early (I had been planning on restarting it next July), and I hope I will have your continued support as this newspaper begins its second year of existence.

The times are changing, at a clip perhaps just as fast as when Dylan sung those words back in 1968. The world, battered by the pandemic, seems to be suffering from long COVID itself, as war and famine, trade barriers, and stunted growth afflict many of Mother Earth’s sons and daughters. This generation comes of age in an uncertain time, with the world at a crossroads between peace and war, free trade and tariffs, between coexistence with AI or replacement by it, and between a world where countries and peoples choose their own path for the future, and one where only one kind of development is allowed.

It may seem, amidst the headlines and rhetoric, that we have very little say in what goes on in a world we’re supposed to lead. In fact, many of our elders doubt we can lead at all, so dependent are we on technology and other people's work.

This Gen-Zer would beg to differ. Our generation is ready and able to tackle the challenges of our times. This winter marks the five-year anniversary of the global pandemic. Even as we grieve for the millions who lost their lives to the most deadly pandemic in over a century, we are heartened by the signs of growth exhibited by young people, especially in a world in which many felt lost and hopeless.

What is courage? Our great-grandparents may have said courage is fighting in the trenches and being ready to die to prevent tyranny and fascism. Our grandparents may have said courage is marching on the streets for freedom and a better life. Our parents would say, courage is working day and night without complaint for a better future for their families, and they are all right—a hundred times over. And we will always respect our elders for showing bravery in the face of unimaginable hardships. But I contend it would be wrong to say that courage is only that.

The courage and determination this generation has demonstrated as we hunkered down and donned masks to fight a silent battle against isolation, anxiety, and that ultimate fear of death that many adults have trouble confronting is truly incredible. As lockdowns closed schools and businesses, the world we knew came to a stop—the streets empty, all but the most vital shops deserted and closed. Many of us faced the first real crisis in our young lives. I think I’m not alone in recalling a sense of fear that struck at the very essence of our being—life itself. As we watched the daily updates of black numbers and heard about the occasional infection near our neighborhood, I remember how scared I felt at the seemingly unstoppable tide of death and disease.

But I never lost hope and continued my schooling online. The pandemic forced us to exercise self-constraint, freeing us from the supervision of our teachers. And while there were occasional lapses in good judgment, on the whole, I found it to be a productive time, and my grades actually got better in the exams after returning to school.

As the pandemic recedes into distant memory, it is important to acknowledge and reflect on the impact it has had on all of us, both good and bad. As we head into the second half of the 2020s, we will bear the scars and virtues from our own time of courage and loss.