What image comes to mind when you see/hear the word roaring? Is your image related to the adjective and its definition of “making or uttering a loud, deep, or harsh prolonged sound” such as an engine or an animal? Maybe your thoughts conjure a business that is “lively and brisk” such as Starbucks on Union University Drive at 7:30 in the morning? Or possibly, like me, you enjoy camping, so the picture your mind summons is that of a fire “burning fiercely and noisily.” Although all of these are appropriate definitions for the word roaring, I want to ask you to consider another definition which is “(of a period of time) characterized by optimism, buoyancy, or excitement” such as the Roaring Twenties.

According to my completely academic search of Google, “The 1920s in the United States, was called ‘roaring’ because of the exuberant, freewheeling popular culture of the decade. The Roaring Twenties was a time when many people defied Prohibition, indulged in new styles of dancing and dressing, and rejected many traditional moral standards.” This era was also known for the birth of mass culture where the financial means existed to purchase consumer goods such as home appliances, radios, and automobiles. It can be viewed as a time of prosperity and indulgence but also as a time of conflict and uncertainty.

Taking the concept of the roaring twenties from an era in history and applying it to a specific period in the lifespan of an emerging adult, one can see how a definition such as a period characterized by optimism, buoyancy, or excitement might be fitting along with the angst of conflict and uncertainty. So, I pose two questions. Question one is for those of us who are in a different phase/decade of our lifespan, how are we investing in emerging adults so that they are equipped to experience a Roaring Twenties? Question two is for those currently in this season of life, how are you creating relational equity and identity capital to prepare yourself?

In her book The Defining Decade, Meg Jay defines identity capital as “our collection of personal assets. It is the repertoire of individual resources that we assemble over time. These are the investments we make in ourselves, the things we do well enough, or long enough, that they become a part of who we are…Identity capital is how we build ourselves-bit by bit, over time.” In my Life Calling presentation, I encourage students to consider what they are doing now that will establish their identity capital. As a sport management major at Union, our students are required to participate in service learning and internship hours with the intent that as the student actively engages in these activities (not passively taking up physical space), they will discover interests and talents to guide them into a career. Likewise, our hope is that the professionals they encounter will mentor and advise students to develop specific skill sets which will allow them to flourish personally and professionally into their Roaring Twenties.

Please feel free to share below how you are establishing identity capital for yourself or the ways in which you are developing the emerging adults within your influence. Each generation should be challenged to find mutually beneficial ways for this world to flourish the way God created it to be with our gifts, talents, and work. Do you have a skill set that could be invested in someone else? Will you please consider taking active steps to make that investment today?