Your weekend long reads 🗞️

Good morning, friends of The Short List! If you were one of the millions in the path of winter storms this week, our thoughts and prayers are with you. 

As if the hazardous weather weren't enough, the COVID-19 pandemic grinds on, impacting all our lives – sometimes even our very survival. But we all want more out of life than just surviving. In the face of the endless coronavirus nightmare, many Americans are asking themselves some profound questions: How do I really want to live my life? Who am I anyway? And should I stay put or hit the road?

Our long reads this weekend look at some of the ways Americans are reexamining and recreating themselves. 

• #VanLife takes off during COVID-19 as Americans convert vans for a life on the road
• Pandemic lockdowns gave young people freedom to explore their gender identities
• COVID-19 'didn't scare me away': Nursing schools see enrollment bump amid pandemic

Need more direction? There are plenty more long reads below.