A year later, Robertson’s classes are entirely in-person. His college has a vaccine and indoor mask mandate, and almost everyone he knows is living a “normal” life. His parents’ house was full for Thanksgiving this year, and he’s gathering with family again this winter at a ski resort. “People don’t want to talk about COVID anymore,” he told me. “It’s just not a thing that people enjoy doing, really. What is there to talk about with it that isn’t just a drag from the rest of the life that we want to be getting on with?”

Robertson echoes a feeling that has permeated the minds and lifestyles of many young people who have missed out on experiences, friendships, and milestones over the past two years of coronavirus disruption. There is a sense of needing to make up for lost time and reclaim a sense of normalcy, even as case counts rise and new variants take root. For these cohorts of Gen Zers and “Z-lennials” (those born roughly from 1993 to 1998), they’re once again learning and working in-person; they’re dining, drinking, and dancing indoors; they’re traveling and celebrating birthdays and holidays; and they don’t have plans to stop anytime soon—Omicron variant be damned…

“​​To be honest, if anything, I feel like I fall into the mindset of: I am vaccinated, so I’m just gonna, like, do me,” Jacob, a 23-year-old living in Baltimore, told me. (He asked to be identified by his first name only because his job doesn’t permit him to talk with the press.) He’ll be traveling to the United Kingdom to see his family for the holidays, if restrictions remain lifted.