It’s not difficult to point out a generation that possessed a notable trait. Whether it was being captains of industry, fighting fascism, or leading the movement for civil rights, anyone can look back into the past and find something favorable about America’s previous generations; but there’s a certain attribute that makes the current generation of young people better than the rest – and that’s determination.

Many people reduce the definition of determination to simply mean continuing to do a difficult task, but it is much more than that. Determination is the drive to, against all odds, conquer any and all obstacles that would prevent one from achieving their desired dreams. Determination is a particularly widespread and ubiquitous trait amongst high school students because of the hardships they have to face to reach their goals. Calvin Heng, a high school student, proclaimed that his determination towards becoming a weatherman is “the only thing keeping [him] alive”. This is a common sentiment that can be seen throughout a majority of high school students.

Due to many major events in modern history, many current high school students are the children of immigrants who fled their home countries as refugees in search of a better life and future for their children; because of this, many high school students have immense pressure put on them to perform to their highest capabilities at school. This has led to many of them participating in multiple extracurricular activities such as sports, clubs, and volunteer events. They do all of this because they are determined to fulfill their parents’ dreams for them.

High school students also exemplify determination in their work and study habits. It is almost impossible to walk into any Starbucks franchise without seeing several groups of high school students spending hours at a time studying for their classes. They do this because they know they have to maintain constant vigilance in their studies or else they won’t meet the high expectations that have been set for them.

With the rising costs of higher level education, it would be practical to assume that getting accepted into college while also being able to afford it would be a pipe dream for most high school students; however, the contrary is more apparent, as an overwhelming majority of high school students plan on going to college, and most of them are on track to do so. The unexplainable amount of determination that high school students show towards such a seemingly hopeless cause is what makes their generation so great.

The determination shown by today’s young people is what makes them such a more exceptional generation than the ones that came before them. From birth, to school, and the world beyond, this generation faces some of the hardest obstacles in life, more so than any other generation. This trial by fire will make the current generation a force to be reckoned with on the world stage, as the future of human society will be shaped significantly by their actions.