Every generation has their own challenges. From wars, pandemics, racial injustices and terrorist attacks the world has felt so many hardships. And America has been the epicenter of many of these things. For younger generations they have had to experience Covid-19 and although all generations still living have also had to experience it they haven’t had to experience very many other things like war or terrorism attacks. 

Brycen Williams is a 19-year-old going to school to be a general practitioner and is a YC graduate. He was only a junior in high school when Covid started and it has taken so many opportunities away from him. He missed a year of sports and school and it made it hard for him to want to stay motivated. 

Williams says, “We were all going through the same thing so we were more understanding of one another.” This is what he believes is the biggest change and growth we can see happening in our society. With every hardship our country has faced we have found that it’s allowed us to grow closer together in so many ways and also it has allowed us to gain more compassion for others. 

Benjamin and Kelly Williams are a part of a slightly older generation. Benjamin is a diesel mechanic and Kelly is an instructional assistant and the two of them were at school when 9-11 striked America. 

 Kelly Williams , stated that, “Everyone lived in fear for a while.” And this was one of the biggest challenges after this somber situation. It affected so many people and families around America and it slowed time down for a long time. So many people felt scared to leave home in fear that we would be attacked again but this time closer to home.

“It made us realize what war and peace meant in real life versus reading about it in a history class. It was real life. We put aside our differences and felt like one country,” said Benjamin Williams.

Terri Johnson is the next oldest generation and she lived through a lot of historical events when it came to  civil rights. She was born in 1959 and is a Senior Business Analyst for Oregon Department of Forestry. 

Johnson lived in Minnosota for most of her life so she wasn’t exactly aware of all of the discrimination going on with people of color in her younger years. “ It opened up our eyes to the fact that there’s a lot of other people in the US that I didn’t know struggled or were treated differently and I didn’t know because I was secluded from that growing up. I hadn’t seen a colored folk until I was 18 years old,” Johnson said.

So when Martin Luther King Jr. began his speeches and rallies she was shocked to hear it all over the news channels and televisions. When Martin Luther King Jr. was shot it was a huge conflict in politics. It made everyone divide for a long time because while many began to realize the discrimination people of color faces there were just as many people who saw it as a fair and just way to treat them.

After his killing the whole world became more aware of the huge faults America has done when regarding the rights of people of color. So then they began seeing the relationship between races start to be bettered and it was a very emotional and impactful time for people. 

Every Generation has found themselves stuck in a moment of change and challenge and in every instance we have grown and learned from those actions. Our nation has its problems but they have also resolved many over the years.