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LAGUNA HILLS, Calif. — It can be difficult to love yourself in high school, but one California teen is determined to help her classmates know their worth.
If you walk into the girls’ bathroom at Laguna Hills High School, you won’t see your reflection above the sink. Instead, you’ll find encouraging messages aimed to brighten your day, Today reported.
More than 30 signs cover the walls where the mirrors once hung, signs bearing greetings like, “You are beautiful,” “You are smart,” “You are loved” and “You deserve the best.”
The girl behind the greetings — 17-year-old Sabrina Astle — is hoping to make high school a more positive place, particularly for her female classmates.
“My goal was to spread love and positivity on campus, and in the world too,” she told CBS News.
Astle, who also founded her school’s Kindness Club, came up with the idea for the signs during the school’s “What if … Week,” according to ABC News. One of the themes was, “What if we showed more love?”
Astle felt it was the perfect prompt for the signs, so she hung them in the evening as a surprise for the morning.
“I didn’t think I was doing anything that would impact anyone,” she told ABC. “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.”
The signs quickly made waves beyond campus. When a mom at the school — Shannen McKinney Lob — noticed them, she snapped a photo and posted it to the Pantsuit Nation Facebook page.
“I walked into the girls bathroom at a local high school over the weekend and was so amazed and overjoyed at what I saw,” the post reads. “No mirrors just affirmations!”
As of Monday night, the post had garnered 52,000 likes since it went up March 25.
“This post gave me chills!!!” wrote one commenter.
“I showed this to my middle school-age daughters and they thought it was a great idea,” wrote another. “They presented it to their school and it’s been approved!! #proudmama #girlsrule”
Chelsea Maxwell, Laguna Hills High School activity director, feels this effort is particularly poignant for this age group.
“They face so much pressure, academically to perform, athletics. … It can at times be overwhelming for students,” Maxwell told Today.
Astle has been so pleased with the result of the project that she’s hoping to launch another one soon — this time for the boys at the school, Today reported.
“The signs have helped people remember that everyone is beautiful, everyone is important, everyone is good enough and everyone should be treated equally,” she told ABC. “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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