About four or five weeks ago, I started to think that the worst of the pandemic was over.

The footy was back. You could go out for dinner at your favourite restaurant. You could even have a drink at your watering hole of choice.

Life seemed to be getting better. People were definitely happier. Genuine smiles, not the forced ones through gritted teeth, were returning to people's faces.

Things were different, of course, but the concessions necessary to keep ourselves and others safe had become second nature - and some measure of normality seemed to be returning.

This new and improved mindset didn't stop me from taking precautions such as social distancing and the like, but I was starting to allow myself to look to the future.

My main priority was to reschedule an already long overdue interstate trip to see family that had been hastily cancelled when the pandemic took hold and crossing state borders could no longer be guaranteed.

But suddenly, with coronavirus outbreaks in Victoria and NSW impinging again on our freedoms, that plan and many more like it seem less rooted in reality and more a flight of fancy.

When Albury residents can't even cross into Wodonga without a permit, when the military is called in to man checkpoints, when a heart attack patient is turned away from Wagga Base Hospital because of their postcode, one realises just how far removed we still are from doing so many things we once took for granted.

Everyone has had to make sacrifices during this unprecedented period, but I feel especially sorry for the Riverina's younger residents.

This week, The Daily Advertiser has spoken to a bunch of 17 and 18-year-olds about how the pandemic is impacting on their hopes and dreams.

Not only are they having to complete the most important year of their schooling under the extra stress and disruption of the pandemic, but what the future holds beyond that remains the great unknown.

Will there be jobs for them once they leave school? Will they be able to complete further studies at their university of choice?

And as for those plans for international travel - a rite of passage for so many adventurous young Australians - well, they will probably have to go on the back-burner indefinitely.

Despite this uncertainty and despite the obvious disappointment that their best laid plans had been dashed, it was impossible not to be impressed by the maturity with which they are facing this adversity.

Whatever happens from here, I am confident our future is in good hands.

All the best for the week ahead, Ross