My Message to The Class of 2025

*This transcript was auto-generated*

Kim:

I think we're in a celebratory season with young people, and I think we need to be less celebratory and more preparatory. It's not what how many cords you get. It's what you're going to do with the life opportunities that come your way. This is the Kim Gravel show. Hey, y' all, Kim Gravel here. You have tuned in, listened in. You're in the Kim Gravel show right now. I gotta tell you, this is a solo show and I love solo shows.

Kim:

Zac.

Zac:

I love the solo shows too. I think it's. Cause it's less work for me. You have to do more work for the solo shows.

Kim:

Well, I just, you know, I just. There's times I just want to get on here and preach, teach, encourage, complain, whatever. Okay. And I have just come off of the graduation month of double hockey sticks. I just want to say, okay, what happened when we graduated high school? I mean, I graduated a lot. I was graduated in 1989. Okay. And we graduated.

Kim:

We got a little cap, a little gown. I didn't get any cords. I don't even if they had cords back then, you know, for your honors and all that mess. And if they did, I didn't have any. So I'm just saying, like, I had a hat, I had my gown, I wore a little, you know, flip flop kind of shoe. And you walked across the stage and there was about 400,000 people there. And I just remember seeing my parents in the very top of the bleachers in the far right hand side. They heard my name, they waved, and they left before traffic got bad.

Kim:

Okay. I mean, it was just. There was no party. There was no kiss my grits. There was nothing. There was no invitation. You graduated and then you got a summer job before you went to college. I mean, it was no big celebration.

Kim:

Zac.

Zac:

Yes. Is it different now? Do these kids have it different than.

Kim:

It's ridonkulous. It is ridonkulous. It is ridiculous. I mean, I just remember when my kids started high school, my whole philosophy is don't peak in high school.

Zac:

Okay.

Kim:

Because honestly. Can we talk about it? Do you ever keep in touch with anybody from your high school right now? Answer me. Answer that, yes or no?

Zac:

No.

Kim:

Me neither.

Zac:

Do you feel a little guilty about that? Because I kind of wish I did.

Kim:

There's no. I do not.

Zac:

You don't?

Kim:

I don't. I don't. I don't. Okay, I will tell you. You go through cycles in your thing, you know. Yeah. So high school is a true blip.

Zac:

Yeah.

Kim:

If you say to me, high school were the best years of my life, I really want you to come and take the Kim Gravel confidence course. Because I want. Because that. And I tell my kids, don't pick in high school. They're not the best days. They're not the best days of your life.

Zac:

This advice coming from you, too, is really interesting. As someone who, like, you, won miss Georgia at 19. So for a lot of people, like, that could have been you. I think maybe. Were there some years in your life, like, maybe in your 20s, where you were worried that was gonna be you?

Kim:

No, honey, I still haven't peaked. I'm still waiting for what's next.

Zac:

I didn't say you peaked. I said you might be worried that you had peaked. I didn't say that you had.

Kim:

I don't worry. I don't think anybody ever peaks unless they decide to peak. So that was. That was my point about it. I'm not downing high school. It serves its purpose. It's a season of life. But we had to go to 4,720 2,000 parties, and it cost me about $4,722,000 to buy gifts for all these people.

Kim:

And then. Which I happily did, because people gave to Bo as well. But I want to say I think we're in a celebratory season with young people, and I think we need to be less celebratory and more preparatory.

Zac:

Okay.

Kim:

Is that even a word?

Zac:

Yeah, Prep. Preparatory. Yeah. Prep. There's, like, preparatory school. That's what a prep school is. It's a preparatory school. Yeah.

Kim:

Thank you. Yes. Because I. I said, bo, this ain't real life, baby. Ain't nobody going to celebrate you 722 days out of the year.

Zac:

Yeah. Right.

Kim:

So, I mean, after a while, I mean, I did the video. I did the. I did the poster outside of the neighborhood. I bought the $4,000 ads to go into yearbook. I did all that. And I thought. And honest to God, the day after, it was like. I mean, everything was in a corner, shoved in a corner.

Kim:

And I said to Travis, why don't we just. Why don't we spend the money on a really, really nice trip for y' all as opposed to. I'm serious.

Zac:

Like, I agree with you. Can I just say, like, you said yearbook. So, like, even. It's starting so early now. I don't remember. Did you get a yearbook every year, like, in elementary garden?

Kim:

No.

Zac:

Last year, my daughter's in first grade, and, like, we decided not to buy The. There's a yearbook. We decided not to buy it because, like, who buys a yearbook in first grade? And then all her little friends had yearbooks. And she was like, where's my yearbook? And she was so upset that we didn't buy her a yearbook. And she had total fomo.

Kim:

She was the only kid. She was the only kid without a yearbook. She wasn't gonna give her a little sheet of paper.

Zac:

She felt like the only kid.

Kim:

Did they give her a sheet of paper?

Zac:

And they're so intense about it too. They're like, we're not gonna buy any extras. You gotta pre order it, blah, blah, blah. And so good, you know?

Kim:

Good. I'm glad she felt. I'm glad she felt. Cause get used to that. That's what I'm trying to say. That's my point of this. No, I'm serious.

Zac:

She's getting one in second grade, though. We felt so bad.

Kim:

Don't drink the Kool Aid.

Zac:

Am I the problem, Kim? Am I part of the problem?

Kim:

Well, listen, you know, I'm the problem. I'm gonna tell you. Hey, what is that Taylor Swift song?

Zac:

I'm the problem. It's me.

Kim:

Hi. You know. Hey. Hi. I'm the problem. It's me. I wanna say this though, what I'm saying, we are celebratory of all these monumental events and not as preparatory. I don't mean you don't celebrate the small wins.

Kim:

Absolutely. Celebrate. You lost 10 pounds. Celebrate.

Zac:

Celebrate.

Kim:

Yeah, you know, you hit a milestone in your career, celebrate. But never be satisfied with just the celebration.

Zac:

Right?

Kim:

I'm telling you, I'm seeing this even with myself, you know, you'll hit. I'll hit a plateau or I'll hit a milestone or a goal in the business. And not that it's not enough. I'm content. But I'm like, is that all that's for me?

Zac:

Right?

Kim:

Sometimes we get so caught up in the achieving that we forget that God has more for us. You know, I always say this, that my dad says if. If you ain't dead, you ain't done. And he's almost 80. And I really believe that is true, watching these seasons of my kids. Because, you know, when you're living your own life, you. You'll beat yourself up. You know what I'm saying? We'll work ourselves to death.

Kim:

But when you're watching your kids go through, it's a little bit of a different lens that you're looking through. And I just thought to myself, I said to b. Enjoy this, but this is not the best years of your life. And so somebody's listening to me right now, and you're maybe 67, 65, 52, 46. And you think the best years, the best celebratory years have been in your past, and I'm telling you, they're not. The best is yet to come. Bo went. He graduated.

Kim:

La la la, ya ra ra. He took all the pictures down from high school. Everything. It's like, he's ready for the college chapter.

Zac:

Oh, he's like. He's just like, he's gonna go and just.

Kim:

He's done.

Zac:

Yeah, he's out.

Kim:

Yeah, good for him. He's out. Peace out. Cub Scout, good friend. But. And I love that. But I mean. And I'm not.

Kim:

I'm not down on anybody that it still, you know, misses the high school experience, because for some, it was torturous. For some, it might have been a really great experience. Y' all. The best is here. It's. It's. There's more to life. There's more coming for Beau.

Kim:

There's more coming for me. There's more coming for you, Zac, and there's more coming for you.

Zac:

Do you think that we are, as a society because we are in this, like, Instagram sort of culture, Everyone wants these moments that they can share that look so great. Is that the reason why we have so much more celebration than we used to?

Kim:

It was an eye opener, like, through the high school graduation, the whole week to have senior week. I'm like, lord have mercy. I was at that school morning. I was at home. But they had a prayer breakfast, and they had a senior breakfast, and then they had a chapel service, and then we had the actual. And the whole theme of it, like, the. The. The people were standing up that were speaking, were saying, look, you're gonna have dreams, and some of them might not come true.

Kim:

And I was just like, okay. And. And then they were like, you know, you're gonna leave here, and you're just gonna be a memory here at this school. I'm like, okay. And then we got to the actual graduation, and they were like, you know, you're gonna be successful, but a lot of you won't achieve what you're saying you want to achieve. I was just like, okay, now hold up. I was just like, this is. I was just.

Kim:

It was almost like this. I mean, it was. I mean, honestly, what they were saying is speaking a lot of truth. Speeches, statistics do show that is pretty much the truth, but I don't know that I agree with that because I look back over my life. Have I had some really tough times? Yes. Have I made some really poor choices? Absolutely. Just last week, actually. So, like, I mean, all that stuff is true, but each season of my life has gotten harder but sweeter and more impactful and better.

Kim:

And so if you're looking at your life and you're sitting there in your high school graduation and you're hearing the rah rah speech, I miss the rah rah speech because I believe in the rah rah speech. I do believe that you can go and make your dreams come true. I don't know what those dreams are. And some. For some. A lot of us, those dreams have, you know, taken a turn or they. Have they. Because, you know, when you're 18, 19.

Kim:

I mean, I thought I wanted to be Miss America. I was for sure I was gonna be Miss America. Well, I didn't win Miss America, but I feel like Miss America's sitting here talking to all of y' all right now because I'm so blessed and grateful to be able to do so. I didn't win the crown, but I got the prize.

Zac:

Yeah.

Kim:

So you know what I'm saying to you is, is that maybe think of yourself right now as that high school senior sitting there with your gown and your cap. Maybe you don't have any cords. Cause I didn't. And listen, no judgment there, honey. What are the cords? Are the courts.

Zac:

Like, Is that for, like.

Kim:

For National Honor Society and Bader Club and Honors Graduate and all that mess? Yeah, I didn't have none. I was a C student. I graduated with a C average.

Zac:

I was in the twos. The average. But I still wasn't like, National Honor Society or anything.

Kim:

I barely got through. Luckily, Beau had National Honor Society. He had a few cords, but I just walked into his room the other day, and the cords are wadded up, laying in the corner of the closet.

Zac:

Yeah. Because what are you gonna. What do you do with those apples?

Kim:

Right. It's not how many cords you get. It's what you're gonna do with the life opportunities that come your way. And what I love about it is opportunities are always in perpetuity. They're always cyclical. They're always coming for you. Opportunities are not this missed open window, and then it's gone.

Zac:

Right.

Kim:

They're always coming for us. But if you're sitting there thinking and you're getting the bad graduation speech about how it's really, life is hard and it's tough and you're not going to get your dreams, which is statistically true. I'm gonna say that for a lot of people. But I do believe he did say it was a choice. And I believe the choices that we make are great. And the great thing about the choices that we make, whether they're the wrong ones or the right ones, it's never too late to make a right one. So what I'm saying to everybody listening, I don't care how old you are, if you're 18, you just graduated high school, or if you're 68 and you don't know what you're gonna do with your life, still, the best is yet to come. And so if I was to give the graduation speech, the commencement speech, they didn't ask me.

Zac:

Okay. Yeah, wait, let me cue the graduation speech. Music, Kim. All right, ready? I'm gonna cue the music.

Kim:

Okay. I would say to all of you sitting out there listening to the class of 20, 25 and classes that have passed, I'm gonna quote Frank Sinatra in the song that he sing, the best is yet to come. The best is yet to come. And, babe, won't that be fine? You think you've seen the sun, but you ain't seen it shine. So if you are sitting there saying, I've seen the sun, my moment in the sun has passed. It hasn't. Because if you haven't seen it shine on you, today is your day. Don't celebrate your small wins of yesterday.

Kim:

Let's look forward to the opportunities in the future. Because they are many. They are many. And that sun is gonna shine down on you if you believe it and if you receive it, and if you understand and know that the best is yet to come. So all of you out there listening to me right now, the dreams you have, they're not over. Your time has not passed. You've not thrown up your cap and left the building, and it's over. You have not peace.

Kim:

The sun is getting ready to shine on you.

Zac:

Oh, I got chills, right? Ooh, I like that. Yeah.

Kim:

You know, because a lot of times. A lot of times we feel like, you know, it's passed us by. And I think it's so funny that a lot of the graduates from high school, they were crying that they thought their. Their best jobs, like, oh, my God, you're 18. You haven't even started your life.

Zac:

Yeah, man, I'm 53. I feel like what you. They're. They're so filled with all these ideas, and so many of them are actually really not good for them. All of Us are.

Kim:

That's it. That's what I'm saying. Like, I don't think we ever grow up.

Zac:

Did you like high school? Did you like high school? Kim, just real quick.

Kim:

I didn't. It was okay. I had to do it, you know? But what I'm saying is. But I've had the high school experience over and over. There's seasons in your life where you're just like, this is it. If you're feeling like this is it, then the sun hasn't shined on you. You've seen the sun, but it hasn't shined. Right?

Zac:

Yeah.

Kim:

And that means there's more to come. When the sun sets and the Lord calls you home, it's like my dad said, when you're six feet under, that's when you don't see the sun shining anymore. So if you are waking up and you see the sun, it's ready to shine on you, no matter what year you're about to graduate from. Because we're always graduating. We're always evolving, we're always growing. And that's exciting. Don't be sad. Maybe you've, you know, your career is coming to an end.

Kim:

I mean, I've got a couple of things that are coming to an end in my life, and it was kind of bittersweet because I've done them for about 10 years, but it's like. Yeah, but it's time. Like, even my son graduating high school, it's time.

Zac:

And then you have opportunities, like, you have time for the next thing.

Kim:

That's right. The best is yet to come.

Zac:

All right, Kim. Well, until next week.

Kim:

Happy graduation to all the graduates out there.

Zac:

Happy graduation, everybody. Oh, my gosh. Go study something. Go do something.

Kim:

Oh, and you don't. No, wait a minute. No, I want to say this. If you've had a fantastic, like, high school story or a graduate story or something, or a dream that you had in high school, you know, because there were so many kids. I want to be a rocket scientist. I want to be an ISIS terrorist. You know, And I wasn't making fun.

Zac:

Of it because I'm like, wait, hold on.

Kim:

Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.

Zac:

I want to be a rocket scientist. I want to be an ISIS terrorist.

Kim:

What? What school?

Zac:

Who are these kids?

Kim:

This terrorist operative, like, they were. He was. He's going to the military.

Zac:

Okay. Okay.

Kim:

So he's like a CIA agent or something? Yeah. I thought, wow, that's great.

Zac:

I'm glad we clarified that for the listeners.

Kim:

But I loved it because there was. There was a Couple of kids that, like, I don't know. I just want to hang out with my friends. I'm like, I like that. That was cool. That was cool. We had a couple of those.

Zac:

Wait, did they make that? It's in the yearbook. You mean not like live in the graduation? Did to say something in front of everybody when they got their diploma?

Kim:

No, they just. They just. When they called them up, they said, this is what they're gonna do, and this is who they're wanting to be when they grow up.

Zac:

In the whole night, oh, they said, oh, wow, okay. Like, that's funny.

Kim:

There was a couple going, I don't know, whatever God has, I just wanna hang out with my friends. There was a couple that, you know, I thought, now that's cool. That's really cool. That is really cool. I would love for you to send in your stories of things and dreams that you had when you were younger. It's fun to see. It's fun to think back. And I thought, lord, I've done so much more than I ever dreamed of.

Zac:

Yeah. Yeah.

Kim:

So dreams do come true at any age, at any time, at any season of life.

Zac:

And your dreams change, right? Like, your dream evolved based on who you were and the part of your life you were at. Right. I mean, to some extent. Right?

Kim:

Right.

Zac:

Okay.

Kim:

It's like marriage, honey. You. You think it's going to be one thing, and then it's a whole nother thing. It's not that it's. It's worse or better. It's just different.

Zac:

That's a whole nother podcast right there.

Kim:

That's a whole nother. The best is yet to come. We'll do that later. Keep dreaming, y' all. Keep dreaming.

Zac:

Bye, y' all.

Kim:

Zac Miller is the Executive Producer of the Kim Gravel Show. His production company is Uncommon Audio. Our Producer is Kathleen Grant, the Brunette Exec. Production help from Emily Bredin and Sara Noto. Our cover art is designed by Sanaz Huber at Memarian Creative. Our show is edited by Mike Kligerman. Our guest intros are performed by Roxy Reese. Our guest booking is done by Central Talent Booking. Our ads are furnished by True Native Media. And y'all, I want to give a big huge thank you to the entire team at QVC+ and a special thank you to our audience for making this community so strong. If you are still listening then you must have liked a few episodes along the way. So tell somebody about it. Tell somebody about this show and join our mailing list at kimgravelshow.com. I cannot do this show without you and so I thank you from the bottom of my heart for listening. I hope you gain a little bit of encouragement, light and love love from watching and listening to The Kim Gravel Show. I love you all so much. Till next time. Bye.