These Young People Blew Up Their Lives in 2020
If you were lucky enough to find yourself in a place where you could drastically change your life, why wouldn’t you do that?
Halfway through her freshman year, Elizabeth Olshanetsky had a road map for her life that stretched all the way to 2023: The self-described “traditionalist” would continue her education at Yale University, squeeze in a few venture capital internships, get a degree, then land a job. Then, Covid-19 hit and upended the entire world. The 19-year-old found herself back in her childhood bedroom in New Jersey, completing her first year of college through a computer screen, away from the life she had just started to build for herself.
The experience was fine — she wasn’t sick, and her immediate material needs were being met — but it didn’t feel great most of the time. “It was exhausting to stare at a computer all day, instead of being in a classroom with your professor and your classmates,” Olshanetsky said.
The dam broke in July, when Yale announced nearly all sophomores would receive their education remotely come fall. Olshanetsky struggled with imagining this new reality. What was the point of paying Yale’s $57,700 tuition for not even a fraction of the college experience? Thanks to a connection she made online…
