NHS pins kindness on unsuspecting students
National Honor Society places pins with positive messages in the cafeteria for students to share with others
Photo by Keidy Palma
Senior Aileen Alvarado receives a kindness pin on Thoughtful Thursday.
Instagram stories featuring students uplifting other students and positivity radiating through the halls became a weekly sight with National Honor Society’s “Thoughtful Thursdays” campaign. The events were hosted to sprinkle kindness campus.
On Sept. 2, seniors Oscar Medina and Isabella Flores led Thoughtful Thursday by hanging a large poster with pins in the cafeteria. The poster read “Make a day, give a pin” and each pin had a message of positivity like “You are loved” and “You matter.”
“We hoped that with the pins people valued themselves, their friendships, and their lives more,” Flores said. “You were given a pin if someone was thinking about you, showing people that they are thought of and capable of making a day brighter.”
Students were instructed to grab a pin from the poster, and pin it on a stranger’s backpack with the intention of brightening someone’s day in an unexpected way. By the end of C lunch, all the pins had been taken from the poster.
“What we hoped to get out of it is to make someone’s day and push people to spread kindness to others,” Medina said.
According to the Adolescents Wellness Project, 1 in 5 young people between the ages twelve and eighteen suffer from mental health issues. With this in mind, Flores and Medina got their inspiration for this project from the rising mental health epidemic.
“Mental health issues stem from various things, one being not feeling valued in and outside of school,” Flores said. “The pin’s purpose is to make someone feel seen, valued and loved in all aspects.”
For the rest of the day, students with pins on their backpacks and clothing shared a positive message as they went from class to class. With this small act of kindness, Medinas and Flores’ were the cause of smiles across campus. Senior Deborah Lozano was especially affected by this act of kindness, making her day feel more special.
“It was my birthday that day so it was pretty special to have received a pin,“ Lozano said. “It’s nice to have someone remind you that you are loved and it definitely made me feel like it’s important to spread good vibes and remind people how loved they actually are.”
