Anyone trying to make it as an actor, dancer, musician or artist knows they've chosen a tough and unpredictable career path.

A young person in the middle of the country, far removed from the opportunities on the coasts, faces even more hurdles. Now, add a global pandemic -- one that shut down live performances around the country for more than a year and decimated critical internships, apprenticeships and training opportunities for aspiring artists.

While nearly every type of student has been negatively affected by the pandemic, upper-level students in performing arts fields have taken some particularly painful blows.

I talked to a group of students working toward bachelor of fine arts degrees at Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, about how the pandemic has thrown off their early career trajectories.

J'Nae Howard, a dance major finishing her junior year, qualified for two intensives -- one with a dance company in New York and another in Chicago -- that were supposed to have taken place last June. They were postponed a year, and now have been postponed again. When her in-person classes were canceled last spring, she didn't have access to a studio, so she tried to do her ballet, jazz, aerial and modern dance classes at home by moving furniture around. When the weather cooperated, she looked for even surfaces to dance on outside.

"For one project, I created a dance film around my house," she said. She is adjusting to dancing while wearing a mask, and says she is worried about the opportunities she won't have before graduating next year.

Cleo Watkins, a junior majoring in theater design and technology, had an internship last summer with the Colorado Shakespeare Festival that evaporated. Nearly every summer stock theater season was canceled last year, and many are just now making decisions about this summer. Watkins has decided to remain in Cape Girardeau this summer, working at a fast-food restaurant and helping with high school performances when she can.

"I'm a little more worried for my early career," she said. Summer stock theater is critical to gaining experience and making connections that lead to employment after graduation. Juniors and seniors, in particular, have lost those chances.

"As musical theater students, you want to get one professional show under your belt before you graduate," said Anastasia Novak, also a junior at SMSU. "We've lost our competitive edge right out of college."

Hollynn St. Clair, a senior earning a musical theater degree, would normally have spent the past few months auditioning, but she hasn't felt safe traveling for the scarce opportunities that are available. She had planned to move to New York or Los Angeles after graduation, but now she's going to spend another year working a local retail job, trying to save money and hoping the industry rebuilds.

"It's kind of given me a pause on my life," she said. As she works and waits, she's been thinking about where she wants to go, what she really wants to do and how she will grow as an artist until it's safer to audition. St. Clair has had conversations with friends who are rethinking their intended career paths altogether. She plans to do workshops and readings from home and continue looking for Zoom opportunities, and may try to produce her own work while she regroups.

"A lot of it is fighting down panic," she said. "Once you graduate, you lose a lot of internship and apprenticeship opportunities because they are only offered to students."

It would make sense for theater, dance and music companies to reconsider that restriction for the students whose opportunities were shut down and whose classroom instruction was compromised.

These students knew the odds when they decided to pursue a career in the fine arts. But they could not have imagined that their elusive dreams would get this much harder to catch.

On social media, mothers can occupy two completely different worlds.

One is a glossy, curated land filled with sweet photos and silly stories, childhood accomplishments and adolescent milestones. This is the highlight reel of motherhood.

We all know real life is messier than it appears on Instagram or Facebook. But moms raising neurotypical children, or ones without a mental health diagnosis, may not even know about the other world.

It's a place with countless parenting groups where the conversation is unfiltered and often desperate. The stories here are confessions of impending failures, repeated meltdowns and children whose behaviors are driving parents to the brink.

During the past year, I became increasingly concerned about the deteriorating mental health of children and young adults. I joined a few Facebook groups for parents of children who were struggling -- in school, in social relationships, at home. Many of these private groups are specifically created for parents of children with ADHD, anxiety, depression or a combination of issues that can be hard to diagnose and even harder to treat.

It was in these virtual communities that mothers -- largely strangers to one another -- revealed a side of motherhood largely unseen and rarely discussed among friends.

"I feel helpless and hopeless."

"Please help. I'm desperate."

"I'm just exhausted."

"I'm failing my child."

When your kid's difficult behavior is linked to a diagnosis that can't be detected by a scan or a blood test, it can feel like the world is judging you as a terrible parent. Why is your child missing so many assignments and failing classes? Why is your child acting out? Why is your child so withdrawn? Angry? Negative? Unmotivated?

It's not for the parents' lack of caring, effort or discipline.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders among children in the U.S., with an estimated 6 million American children affected. The pandemic has been brutal on these children and their families, along with those who already deal with other mental health conditions, such as anxiety or depression. The lack of structure and in-person resources led many parents to seek support online from those in the same trenches. It's easier for parents to be vulnerable and honest when they're not afraid of being judged.

Every day, I have read posts from mothers bewildered about how to help their child accomplish tasks that seem to come so easily to other children. The other parents responding to these posts often suggest helpful books; they share articles and videos; they swap tips on medicines and on dealing with schools and doctors.

But perhaps just as valuable is the empathy offered. For those dealing with high levels of conflict with their children -- frequent outbursts, fighting, disobedience and neglected homework or chores -- that grace can be a lifesaver.

I've thought a lot about the appreciation we show mothers on the holiday dedicated to them. The pictures and testimonials that fill our social feeds are from the highlight reel.

But let's take a moment to also appreciate the moms whose children may not be able to appreciate them yet.

The mothers who cry at night or in their cars because they are so overwhelmed. The mothers who despair because they can't get their children to succeed the way schools expect them to. The mothers who are heartbroken by their child's loneliness or emotional turmoil. The mothers who love their child, but don't like their behavior or attitude. The mothers who worry constantly about whether their kids will "make it" and grow into independent, happy adults.

I want to say to those mothers: You are not failing. You are trying to navigate a situation that is hard even in normal circumstances, let alone in a global pandemic.

You are trying your best.

And it is enough.

Every state has a list of required vaccinations for schoolchildren. These mandatory vaccinations ensure that schools are a healthy and safe place to learn.

The coronavirus pandemic, which has killed more than half a million Americans and 3 million worldwide, is the most serious contagious health threat facing the world. The FDA has approved Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for teens 16 and older. It’s also on the cusp of being available to children 12 and older, with emergency approval expected next month.

Should this vaccine be added to the list of required shots when students return in the fall?

At first blush it makes sense, considering that the pandemic has led to millions of students being out of classrooms for more than a year. Developing a vaccine that is effective at preventing serious illness was the crucial first step to ending the pandemic. Just as important, however, is getting it in the arms of as many people as possible. This is what prevents the virus from continuing to mutate and infect people. Already, the newest mutated strains are 50% more contagious than the original COVID-19 strain, and they are more likely to cause serious illness.

But this fall will be too soon for public schools to mandate the COVID shot.

The vaccine has been approved with emergency use authorization, which speeds up vaccine manufacturing and administrative processes during a public health emergency. It does not mean shortcuts are taken in the development, research, trials or studies of possible side effects. But given this EUA status, the legality of states making it mandatory is unclear.

Dr. Kelly Moore, deputy director of the Immunization Action Coalition, which works to increase immunization rates to prevent diseases, said addressing parents’ questions and concerns about the vaccine should be the top priority right now.

“You cannot take a shortcut to getting high vaccine coverage by making a requirement without going through the education process,” she said. “Families need to be able to ask questions and learn about it. A vaccine requirement tends to be much more acceptable when the vaccine is already in widespread use.”

There will always be holdouts and loud critics of vaccines, and social media can be used to spread misinformation more easily than ever. However, the vast majority of people are glad to prevent illnesses like polio, measles, mumps and rubella through inoculations. Around 90% of school children receive these well-known, established vaccines.

Newer ones require a thorough education period. There are examples of past missteps in this process -- the HPV vaccine, for one. As soon it was approved and recommended for teens, some jurisdictions tried to require it.

“There was this huge backlash against it,” Moore said. Parents were fearful of possible side effects and uncomfortable with the idea of inoculating children against a virus transmitted by intimate contact.

The HPV vaccine is “one of the most effective we have,” Moore said. “It will prevent thousands of deaths from cancer, and yet it still has an undeserved bad reputation because of that history.”

In the near future, the COVID vaccine will gain full FDA approval. Perhaps as early as next year, states will consider making it mandatory in certain settings. But until then, debunking the myths around the vaccine, educating people about the benefits of getting it and the risks of skipping it should be a top public health priority.

It’s only when communities are able to reach herd immunity thresholds that we can protect those whose health conditions prevent them from getting immunized.

Currently, private institutions can mandate the vaccine. More than 90 colleges and universities have announced that students must be vaccinated before returning to campus in the fall.

Hopefully, this will be another positive step in helping people realize these vaccines give us an opportunity to regain what this pandemic has stolen from us.

The more who get on board willingly, the better for everyone.