California high school hangs signs of affirmation instead of mirrors in girls' bathroom
Student reaction surprises teen who came up with the idea.
— -- A high school in California has hung in its girls' bathroom signs of affirmation instead of mirrors.
Laguna Hills High School students look at signs that say things like, "You are beautiful" and "You are enough," instead of looking at their reflections.
It was the idea of Sabrina Astle, 17, who told ABC News that she "wanted to find a way to make a difference through our Kindness Club on campus. This is why I started making the posters in the first place."
"Then we had What if … Week," she said, which is designed to bring the campus together. "Each day has a specific message. The message for Thursday, March 23, 2017, was 'What if we showed more love?'"
"I felt that this would be a good time to hang the signs. I put the signs in the bathroom the night before so students would see them throughout the next day," she said.
Chelsea Maxwell, the school's activities director, told ABC News, "[Sabrina] made it her goal for the semester to spread positive messages around campus."
Even though the signs were planned for the What if … Week, reaction has been very positive, Maxwell said, and there are no immediate plans to take them down.
"It made their day," Sabrina said of other students.
"I didn't think I was doing anything that would impact anyone," she said. "I thought it may brighten their day or lift their confidence before their next class, but I didn't think it would make this large of an impact."
She continued, "The signs have helped people remember that everyone is beautiful, everyone is important, everyone is good enough and everyone should be treated equally. I did this because I am passionate about the fact that everyone is important and everyone needs to be cared for."
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