It's my daughter's senior year. I'm not ready.

Today, one of my kids marks a rite of passage: my eldest daughter is starting her senior year of high school.

Please pass the tissues so I can dab my eyes!

As I've been helping her get ready for her last year of high school, I've been thinking about how much American life has changed since she started school and how much it will change in the future.

Keira was in fifth grade during COVID-19, a pivotal year for reading, writing, math and science. I tried to help all of my young children as they struggled to learn via computers, on Zoom calls and with apps on my phone. Schools eventually reopened, but if a kid was exposed to COVID at all, he was sent home to quarantine for days. At home, in our own bubble, we made the best of it and spent a lot of time outside – away from people, of course. We learned a lot of life skills then.

Still, I can see the effects of the pandemic on her peers: They seem a bit more anxious, socially awkward and behind academically. (Not my daughter though, she's perfect!) I feel bad for them sometimes. The adults hardly knew how to navigate the pandemic, much less the kids.

But the biggest difference between high school seniors today and my own graduating class − and probably yours − is smartphones. They didn't exist when I was 17. Now, every kid has them, and they spend a lot of time on them, especially on social media. They have the internet at their fingertips, with access to everything from shopping to movies. It's tempting and distracting – and I ask my kids all the time to put away their phones. I'm hoping this tech-savvy generation will do something amazing with these skills I didn't have at their age.

(Lately, older teens like mine have been rediscovering and idolizing the '90s, probably in part because the era represents a screen-free freedom. I've found this juxtaposition fascinating, and as a parent, I've tried to lean into it.)

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But it's not all bad. I've seen reasons not to be totally worried for this year's Class of 2027. Kids today face tremendous obstacles, but perhaps because of the pandemic, many, like Keira, are well-rounded and involved in work, school, extracurricular activities and devoted to their friends and family. They're much more aware of the importance of mental health and take it far more seriously than previous generations did. They're also far more nuanced than my parent's generation was about politics and religion, willing to listen, learn and debate important ideas.

While I'm already feeling nostalgic about Keira's last year of high school, I'm also excited for her and what the future holds for America's Class of 2027. I'd love to know from you, whether you're a parent or not: What do you think are the biggest differences between being a high school senior today and when you were a high school senior? Reach out: [email protected].

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