I was skeptical about the addition of whiteboards to every hallway in my school. What are those for? Just wasting more money, I see… They left the marker out? What are they thinking? These whiteboards are going to turn into a display of explicit messages and artwork!

But no, I was wrong. The whiteboards brought the exact opposite. Now I read the whiteboards every day as I walk through the halls. The positive messages put me in a good mood. Sometimes it’s a simple message, “Smile”. Sometimes it’s a whiteboard filled from top to bottom. An entire essay about looking at the brighter side of life, and putting the past behind. And these messages are not written by teachers or copied from some website; These messages are written by my classmates. They are written for me, for everyone.

In a school of over a thousand students, it is often misconceived that bullying does not exist because it is invisible to the majority. But bullying does exist, and the whiteboards are a medium to anonymously speak to those who fear to speak themselves
I am thankful for the daily messages on the whiteboards. It is encouraging to know strangers passing through the hallway care about me, though we have never met. Contrary to my first impression, the whiteboards are now my warm welcome to school every day.