20 THINGS I’D TELL THE CLASS OF 2020 | Josiah Kennealy
Whether you just graduated high school, or graduated college – you are a part of the class like no other and you just made your mark on history. With e-learning, plenty of hours on zoom, and the world’s first online graduation ceremony you are pioneering uncharted territory. The future will forever remember you! I can think of no other graduating class that has gone through what you just went through. I myself am only 10 years out of high school, but here’s a few things I’ve learned to hold onto:
1. Your future is bright! Light shines brightest in the dark. Even though you graduated in one of the darkest times in world history on the heels of a pandemic outbreak of COVID-19. You’ve experienced in the past few months alone the benefits of adaptability, flexibility and agility. You are well on your way! If a pandemic can’t stop you – what can?
2. When you see wrongs in the world – you can make them right. Everything starts with one. Long before the iPhone, there was one who boldly dreamed up Apple. Far ahead of anyone else thinking about two-day delivery, somebody bravely set out to start Amazon. The last time there was an economic recession, out of it came Airbnb, Uber, Lyft, Instagram, PayPal, Venmo, Pinterest. What I’m saying is our world is in the middle of a crisis with many massive issues and you live in a generation that doesn’t see problems as problems but as potential possibilities to change the world!
3. Slash Student Loans. Graduating debt free is completely possible. Less debt is always better than more debt. Student Debt has ruined the lives of enough generations before yours. 44 million Americans are impacted by the $1.6 trillion worth of educational loans outstanding. You can graduate debt free – and I’m living proof that you can do it, too. I wrote more about this in a book called Debtless.
4. Be an apprentice. Whether you get a part-time job, start a side-hustle, or you’re interested in an internship. Find some people doing what you might want to do and get into proximity with them. It’s been said that more than 50% of the jobs you will work one day don’t even exist yet. So if you don’t know what you want to do yet, relax, part of the reason why is it might not be a thing yet!
5. Become a lifelong learner. We live in the information age and still our souls are longing for transformation. We have access to more books through Audible, Kindle, the Library, Half-Price Books, and Barnes and Noble than any other time in history. The opportunity to learn something new every day is right in front of you.
6. Keep growing! We are human beings mentally, physically, spiritually, and socially. These are actually the four ways Luke describes Jesus growing. Pursuing health in each area is vital to our well-being.
7. God loves you. He sees you. He knows you. He cares for you. He’s proud of you. His delight and favor are upon you. During another crisis in history – one of sin to which there was no cure - God sent His son Jesus to save sinners because of the great love He has. This same love, He has for you. He sings it over you. He declares this love over you. This is the banner over your life!
8. Marriage is worth the wait. My wife, Micah and I are all about #adventure! We live to love and love to live. Our story is one of day by day walking with Jesus on the adventure of a lifetime. You can watch our proposal story filmed at the Grand Canyon here. You can read my wife’s book about singleness, dating, and engagement here.
9. Purity is worth the fight. I am far from perfect, I am a work in progress, and I have a long way to go. I will say out of all the things I’ve ever waited for – I’m most glad I saved myself for marriage with my wife on our wedding night. That might sound counter-cultural, controversial, or flat out crazy. I really believe the benefits of marriage are worth the wait and worth the fight.
10. Mentors make an amazing investment in your life. Who are yours? Over the last decade since graduating high school, I’ve sought out a dozen or so people I admire and I’ve chased the opportunity to sit with them in their office, or over a cup of coffee, or a meal. Asking them questions and being in proximity with them has been beneficial in many ways. I’ve tapped into wisdom otherwise not accessible. I’ve met people I otherwise wouldn’t have met. They have opened doors of opportunities that wouldn’t have otherwise been available to me.
11. There is more to life than social media. I probably don’t need to add anything else to this one. That pretty much says it all. We will always be disappointed and let down to a point of emptiness if we compare ourselves with others. Image management is exhausting. Studies show higher rates of anxiety correlate with higher rates of screen time. I’ve simply found this – I’m happier and feel healthier when I don’t reach for my phone first thing in the morning or last thing at night. The days are just better! It goes without saying we should aim to use social media for all of its good and benefits – but don’t become used by social media in the process.
12. Notice what you’ve taken for granted. During a pandemic that we will all tell our kids and grandkids about for decades to come, almost everything has been shut down or canceled. When everything is removed – we get the rare opportunity to evaluate: what belonged there in the first place and what didn’t? I’d suggest making a short list of things you missed most and prioritize them higher ongoingly, so we never take for granted a single second of this precious life!
13. Diversity is beautiful. Racism is wrong. My family resides near Minneapolis, about 15 minutes away from where the recent tragic loss of George Floyd’s life took place. There is a natural cry for resolution and equality to build the bridges that for centuries have divided generations and colors. Generation Z in America is now the most diverse generation with 51% non-white. A new norm and a new narrative is on the horizon.
14. Give more than you take. In life, in leadership, in every relationship, with our time, and in finances we are all given the opportunity to be generous. One of the things I try to live by is leaving behind more than I take. It’s hard to do when you recognize how many blessings you have been given. We are blessed to be a blessing to others!
15. What’s in your wake? We just had our first daughter join our family this spring of 2020. For our “baby-moon” we went on a cruise (pre-coronavirus, I promise). And from the back of the giant ship, as I looked out for miles and miles where all I could see was blue ocean on two sides except where whitecaps of water created a giant wake. It got me thinking, what do I leave behind me? Is it love? Blessing? Kindness? Generosity? Or the opposites.
16. Leave a legacy with your life that lives on. Here on earth, even being young, our lives go fast and our time here is short. We are all faced with the question of what kind of a legacy do we want to leave behind? If you’re graduating high school, you were likely born in 2002, if you’re graduating college, most likely you were born in 1998. I don’t know how long you or I have here on earth, but one day a tombstone will have the year we were born next to the year we died. Our choice on earth is what will we do with the dash in between that can outlast our time here?
17. Pray every day. Set the tone for the best day by spending time in the presence of the best. Whatever your fears, your worries, your stresses, your anxieties, the hopes, the dreams, the desires you have about the future – when we pray, we put God at the center of our plans. Prayer is actually how we can both talk and listen to the creator of the Universe. So many young adults are trying to answer the question: “what is God’s will for my life?” It’s easier to understand the will of God when you know the word of God. It’s easier to know what God’s calling you to do when you know what God’s voice sounds like.
18. Make decisions your future self will admire. Graduating isn’t the finish line, in so many ways it is the very significant moment of the starting line into the rest of your life. When you look back at your life how far you’ve come, and you stand in the moment of this moment, you can gaze into the future and decide today what type of life you want to live. Your thoughts, your attitudes, and your decisions today determine the tomorrow you will live!
19. Slow down enough to rest and enjoy the journey. TV’s sing, cell phones ding, earbuds ring. Notifications are non-stop. Not to mention the never-ending list of content to binge on Netflix. If we are not careful, diligent, disciplined, and intentional we will worry, wish, and waste our life away.
20. Get grit to stick with it. You can go anywhere, be anybody, do anything. All things are possible for you. The best is yet to come in your life. Never give up. Never give in. Don’t ever settle. You don’t need to listen to anyone who tells you differently. There will be challenges, changes, and obstacles – but look where you’ve come from – you’ll get where you’re going if you don’t stop and keep going! Believe in yourself.
I’m proud of you, I believe in you, and I’m cheering you on, class of 2020!
Josiah Kennealy, along with his wife Micah, leads the movement called Minnesota Young Adults through the MN District Assemblies of God, pastors Normandale Chi Alpha, and is author of Debtless.