Have you ever wondered how impactful mentorship can be for young adults? Join us on "Stand with Kelly and Josiah Chewbacca" as we promise to enlighten you about the transformative power of investing in youth leadership. This episode dives deep into the importance of guiding the next generation and how adults can play a crucial role in shaping their futures. Reagan shares his compelling personal journey, highlighting the profound impact mentors have had on his life. We also hear from Josiah and Sarah, who tackle the often-overlooked challenges of starting and maintaining mentorship relationships.
You'll also learn practical advice on supporting young people in these turbulent times. Many young adults are frustrated with the world they are set to inherit, and we explore how adults can help them channel that frustration into positive change. Our conversation underscores how every generation has a unique purpose, even amidst challenges. We emphasize the need for critical thinking, encouraging youth to voice their beliefs and challenge opposing views. With insights from Landon, Sarah, and Reagan, this episode aims to inspire adults to be present and foster spaces where young leaders can thrive. Tune in for an engaging discussion that aims to empower the youth to transform the world for the better.
Have you ever wondered how impactful mentorship can be for young adults? Join us on "Stand with Kelly and Josiah Chewbacca" as we promise to enlighten you about the transformative power of investing in youth leadership. This episode dives deep into the importance of guiding the next generation and how adults can play a crucial role in shaping their futures. Reagan shares his compelling personal journey, highlighting the profound impact mentors have had on his life. We also hear from Josiah and Sarah, who tackle the often-overlooked challenges of starting and maintaining mentorship relationships.
You'll also learn practical advice on supporting young people in these turbulent times. Many young adults are frustrated with the world they are set to inherit, and we explore how adults can help them channel that frustration into positive change. Our conversation underscores how every generation has a unique purpose, even amidst challenges. We emphasize the need for critical thinking, encouraging youth to voice their beliefs and challenge opposing views. With insights from Landon, Sarah, and Reagan, this episode aims to inspire adults to be present and foster spaces where young leaders can thrive. Tune in for an engaging discussion that aims to empower the youth to transform the world for the better.
Welcome back. You're on stand with Kelly and Josiah Chewbacca. Today. We've got our awesome youth panel. I've so loved what you guys have had to share, so I want to follow up on some of what we were talking about last time, which is it's really hard to take a stand out there. When you're asking questions, you're standing alone. We've heard about you know, reagan, talking about people mocking you dressing up as you on Halloween. It was your neighborhood. It was the adults around you, josiah, getting bullied at school, people in authority not doing what they're supposed to do. So, reagan, let's start with you. I just want to ask for all of the grownups out there listening who are like hey, these are some pretty fired up and cool young adults doing what's right. These young adults are all throughout all of our communities. What can grownups do to help young adults like you, as you guys, take a stand for what you believe?
Speaker 2:
Man.
Speaker 2:
Invest in us that's the first word that comes to mind is really invest in the youth around you.
Speaker 2:
I mean, I have probably three or four mentors you know my father, my grandfather and then a couple really close friends and you know they're obviously all older than me but they took the time to invest in me and really develop my passion, because you know, I've been passionate about a lot of things for a lot of time, but for most of that time it was pretty surface level and, you know, maybe a little bit not directionless, but I wasn't really knowing where to go. And having these older people with more wisdom than I you know more, or they know more than me really guiding me through every step of the way, you know, showing me where I need to go, or you know what I need to, what I need, help with what? Just guidance, really guidance, these people investing in me. So I would really say, take the time to invest in these kids around you because they are your future. You're not going to be around here forever and you know I'm, I'm the next generation, so invest in us.
Speaker 1:
Hey, let me follow up with that. So this is a mentoring question I often get. Does the mentor ask you and invite you to be mentored, or do you approach the mentor and ask them for mentorship? What do you say?
Speaker 2:
That's a good question. I really feel like it depends on the situation, because for me, I was the one asking for help and I know not every kid is like that, because some kids might be like I know more than you help, and I know not every kid is like that, because some kids might be like I know more than you, I don't need you. But in reality, no, we really do need y'all. I mean I had no idea where I was going. I mean I need direction.
Speaker 2:
Y'all have more wisdom than me, y'all know more than me. But it really depends on the situation. I mean for me than me. But it really it really depends on the situation. I mean for me I approach them, but for maybe a kid who doesn't I don't want to use the word humility, but doesn't have as much humility as me, you know and start approaching them, you know, get involved in their life. You know if they play sports, show up to their, show up to their games, really cheer them on, just you know, start developing a relationship with them and slowly get more and more involved in their life and invest in them and really guide them to truth.
Speaker 1:
That's good. So, for everyone listening, when I'm looking for someone I'm going to invest in because I'll tell you grownups, who you would want to invest in you don't have a lot of margin for investing, so it's not like you're going to take on a hundred youth, right? So I look for people who are faithful, accountable and teachable, cause those are the three things that I can't pass on. So I'm looking for those kinds of qualities, but I'll tell you it's awkward either way, right, it's awkward to walk up to someone and say, hey, will you mentor me? And then like, what does the conversation go from there? And I'll the. The answer is the conversation is what do you want mentorship on and how often or how serious of a commitment is this Like? Are we meeting three times a year? Or three times a week is kind of the what you need to be prepared for. And then, on the flip side, I would just encourage and exhort all people who are just a couple steps ahead. So anything that you can pass on to someone else that you would go and say I'm, I'm willing to be available. So you don't want to be presumptuous. It does sound presumptuous. Like, josiah, can I mentor you? It just sounds a little bit presumptuous, which is probably a large part of the reason why people a couple of steps ahead don't do it. They don't want to presume, and then it'd be awkward and the person would be like I'm not really interested. But to just say, hey, I'm available If you've got any questions, if there's anything I can offer any, any support I can give, I'm available for you if you need it, happy to talk about. That Is this kind of a gentle way to make yourself available for people who are faithful, accountable and teachable. But let me pass the ball over to you, sarah.
Speaker 1:
What would you say adults could do to help mentor or help encourage and support young adults of tomorrow? Sure, no-transcript you had that was on public display for everybody, where you were literally told you were not allowed to speak because you were bringing up a challenge and a question that was totally legitimate, but because you were questioning the adults, the older people in the room, then you were no longer allowed to speak and in fact what would have been really empowering is if you were allowed to speak and the issue had just been resolved and addressed. I think that that's a really good point. So, I think, an encouragement for everyone who's a little bit further along the road is sometimes the young adults are going to do and say things that are hard to hear or that we don't like, and we have to be emotionally healthy enough to handle that. And what I would also say is sometimes young adults will do things that are not right, and if we can have a little bit of grace for that, to remember that when we were young adults we did things that were a little bit not right too, I mean, I know I did I see you smiling and those are actually really good moments to pull people aside and give them some feedback, instead of assuming that they are as experienced and have had all of the life experiences of a 40 year old and therefore they should know better.
Speaker 1:
And that was stupid or arrogant or whatever judgments you would conclude. They're actually trying to engage in the workplace or political advocacy, life or whatever it is, but they only have the experience of someone who, like not that long ago, was just in high school and so, like you're saying, sarah, to validate, you can do this. This is the road, and then to privately encourage and correct them, to say you'll be more effective if or this would have been a better approach, so that we can help guide them along. Being more effective in their leadership is probably the best approach, and that's how we can build a bench of leaders for tomorrow who are really effective. All right, let's kick it over to you, landon. What would you say? What can adults do to help our young adults?
Speaker 4:
So one of the things that I really hate is whenever adults say I sure would hate to be born in this generation. Esther says, for such a time as this and I believe that we were born here in a specific time to do great things Adults could encourage us by number one encouraging us to believe why we believe it. So this goes back to having a strong foundation. So whenever this happens, after one conversation of someone with a opposing viewpoint, you're not left thinking. Thinking why do I believe this? Or is everything I've been told a lie? No, I also encourage adults to play the devil's advocate. This gives kids and the younger generation an opportunity to think for their selves yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 5:
I'm really just thinking about what Landon said, because people say that so often. You know, oh, I would hate to, especially teachers. Oh, I would hate to grow up in this day and age with the internet and everything, and it's just. It reminds me. You know, no, no, no human ever asked to be born into this world. You know, and our current generation? We definitely did not ask to be born into this world. You know, and our current generation, we definitely did not ask to be born into this world. I'm I'm on the precipice of the rest of my life and I'm looking out and it's just like this is the world I get.
Speaker 5:
It's like really, like all these people who are around me, all these adults who claim that they love me and they support me and they want to invest in me and they want to see me succeed, and it's like, yeah, but you're handing me this mess. Like what the heck? Like this is what I get to look forward to. This is the world you're handing off to me. It's frustrating, it angers me, frankly, as a young person. But then I also know I was born for a specific purpose. You know, god made me for this time and place, and if the world is chaotic and messed up and the adults around me wouldn't even want to be born in it today, then I'm proud that I'm the person who was born with the exact skill sets at the exact time, to fix it and to turn this world into a place that I am proud to pass on to my children.
Speaker 1:
Right. What's that adage about? How great men, yeah, turn this world into a place that I am proud to pass on to my children, right?
Speaker 5:
What's that adage about? How?
Speaker 1:
great men.
Speaker 5:
Yeah, good men make easy times. Easy times make bad men, bad men make hard times and hard times make good men.
Speaker 1:
So that would mean bad men are running things now, I would concur, and then that means that this generation coming up would be full of good men and women who are then going to turn things around. That's what I hear you guys saying. Is that there's a purpose for this next generation to have a role in turning things around, because we definitely know things need to be turned around. Yeah Well, I so appreciate those insights. That was really fantastic. So some of our key takeaways are in order to support young adults and the youth of tomorrow, we definitely need some mentorship. We need we would like to see the youth reach out and also for the older generation, the adults, to be brave enough, make themselves available enough to say, hey, I'm available here and I'm willing to invest in you.
Speaker 1:
When we want to see people supported and we want to see people encouraging, we want to see adults encouraging the youth to say you've got a purpose, and then also just making a space for them, making space for their voice, making space for their place, even if it's something that they don't agree with or that challenges them in their position.
Speaker 1:
I would even add to that something that I think was said, but not said necessarily explicitly is making literal room. So in order to make room for young adults coming up, you've got to vacate position and work yourself out of a job in order to give somebody an opportunity to have that experience, and so that takes a lot of courage, I think, to even step down and step out so that a young person can have that role. So this has been another great episode of stand. We appreciate you all for being with us. Landon, sarah and Reagan so appreciate that you've been on stand with Kelly and Josiah Chewbacca and Reagan so appreciate that you've been on stand with Kelly and Josiah Chewbacca. We will see you next week for another amazing episode, sanchoorg. See you next time.