By Bailey Graham
Staff Writer
Stupid. Worthless. Slut. Fat. Slow.
Words hurt and can stick with someone forever. To combat the flow of pain, Shores invited the Chalkboard Project into the hallways for a second time.
“We brought it two years ago because it would be a great gift to our school that would have a positive effects, and as our legacy for Senior Senate we decided to bring it back and make one last positive and kind impact on the student body,” said senior Gabby Lopez, Senate president.
The Chalkboard Project is an organization that tries to change how students speak to one another.
To begin, individuals had a picture taken (Oct. 23-24) while holding a word that has hurt them on a chalkboard. Those photos were then hung up around the school for almost two weeks (Dec. 2-11).
The hurtful words were covered by colored paper (Dec. 11), and on Friday, Dec. 13, a celebration occurred when students and staff used markers to replace the negativity with positive words.
Students also had the option to post their pictures on social media, and other individuals would replace the word with an uplifting one after an * (asterisk).
Even staff, like math teacher Becca Morse, are excited to see where it will go.
“I hope the Chalkboard Project causes students to have a more positive outlook on life and themselves,” she said. “Hopefully, they will focus on being more mindful before they speak because words hurt.”
While the photos were only up for a short time, many students said they have a lot of gratitude toward the project. They gained confidence in themselves and are reminded that people still care even if you don’t feel it.
“I’m thankful for the Chalkboard Project because I feel good since I know that someone might be going through a rough time and that they are going to be shown that people care about them,” freshman Theo Conrad said. “There are a lot worse words that have stuck with me that I didn’t want to write down, but the positive affirmations will still make me feel better.”
The Chalkboard Project has uplifted the student body and their purpose of spreading the importance of kind words.
“The most important thing about the Chalkboard Project is that it fosters a more welcoming school environment that invites all people to be apart of a conversation about spreading kindness amongst us all, and we should never forget that kindness is important,” junior Megan Quigg said.