TJ’s Be the Change Committee challenges Spartans to give out three compliments per day.
Artwork by Mia Nogueira
From November 1st through November 12th, Spartans were challenged to give away three compliments and tie a red piece of yarn around the complimented person, leading to an abundance of red yarn seen around the TJ campus.
To help keep the spirit of Challenge Day alive, the Be the Change Committee will be implementing bi-weekly challenges to the TJ community. Social worker Samanda Davis sponsors the group and believes it is important to remember the lessons learned from Challenge Day; “I think it’s important to keep challenge day spirit alive and keep the barriers down. We have a consultant from the organization and the other challenges are top secret right now!”
Almost all classes have participated in Challenge Day, freshmen and juniors from last year participated and this year’s juniors just recently participated in the event. Senior Jesse Liu says he was greatly affected by Challenge Day and that the three-compliment challenge is a great way to keep the spirit alive. “To me the challenge shows that people are able to go out of their way to show some love,” he said. “When I look down at the red yarn on my wrist it symbolizes love and it brightens my day to remember the compliment that went along with it.”
Teacher Jon Poole believes it is a fantastic addition to TJ’s culture. “I think it’d be great to implement it on a larger scale; instead of yarn, make it Spartan bands or something similar,” said Poole. “Way too many people don’t appreciate and value positive reinforcement. For most people it feels good to get a compliment, even if they don’t let it be known.”
The next challenge will go on until November 25th and will be to love oneself. The sign language gesture “I love you” will be posted on teachers’ classroom doors and Hershey’s kisses and hugs will be passed out to students who show support to peers. There will also be posters of “affirmations” posted around the school for students to feel the Challenge Day love.
President of the Be the Change Committee Megan Gonzales is a very passionate supporter of the Challenge Day attitude. “I think that doing the compliment challenge showed a lot of school unity. People are nicer and become closer to people and I think that’s important for our community,” Gonzales said.
For more information on the challenges or the Be the Change Committee students can go to their website or stop by Davis’s office.
