Writing on the Wall

Today I was given hope. Not by any of my students (although that's not entirely true as they give me hope and inspiration every day) and not by any of my classes. Not by friends, colleagues, or family.

But by writing on the wall.

Specifically, the writing on the bathroom stalls in the education building.

Now I know what you're thinking "Michelle...that's a stupid place to find hope. It's all crude jokes and foul words. I've SEEN the bathrooms in college classroom buildings."

I've seen those kind of bathrooms too, don't get me wrong. I've also seen the bathroom stall on the third floor of the same building with the words "I believe in Sherlock Holmes" and "DFTBA"...which makes me happy that there are fellow nerds in the education building.

In almost every stall of the bathroom, an inspirational message was written on the wall. Things like "keep going, you're worth it" and other equally inspiring messages. Small paragraphs of hope written in pen on the walls of these old, beaten up bathroom stalls. The bathrooms in the education have seen better days, let's be honest. But seeing these messages of hope...gives me hope.

Sure to some they're cheesy. And to some they don't apply.

But I think back to freshmen Michelle. Freshmen Michelle who was so lost, so confused, so shy and timid and who didn't have many friends in college.

Freshmen Michelle would have loved seeing a message like that.

In a world where there is so much hatred and greed....people telling us we're not good enough or that we'll never be good enough. In a world where bullying has somehow become an accepted form of criticism of others. In a world where so much cruelty exists that students feel the need to end everything...to take their own lives because how could anything possibly be good?

Seeing something like this gives me hope.

And I hope that others see that too. I hope the girl who is struggling with who she is and who is hurting sees those words and knows that there's someone there who CARES. Even anonymously. 

There is always someone who cares. And I can only hope that those messages reach someone who really needs them.

They give me hope.