Foley High School student launches positive affirmation wall
15-year-old Keyla Castro created a positive affirmation wall in the girl’s bathroom...and it grew overnight.
FOLEY, Ala. (WALA) - A local teen is proving that making a difference can start small and grow exponentially.
That’s exactly what happened to Keyla Castro at Foley High School when she started a positive affirmation wall in the girl’s bathroom.
We sat down with Castro. She’s only 15, but she’s on a mission.
“I think the wall has only been three or four days in total but it’s huge- it’s amazing,” she said. “Instead of seeing all the negativity around, I just wanted to bring something-- a light into the school.”
Her vision started with sticky notes and markers.
“I started writing notes and giving people index cards to see what they would say-- what their positivity or quote of the day was. It got passed around for awhile until eventually it was so many leftover-- and I put it on a mirror to make a little positive affirmations- and I put a basket on there so people could write, too,” explained Castro.
Castro’s spark ignited a flame of positivity and prayer requests, quickly covering the mirror in the girl’s bathroom.
“I would have thought that maybe it wouldn’t have done anything or it might have gotten taken down but it continued to grow each day- and it was so much bigger each time and I would walk into the bathroom and there were girls writing there and it made me feel amazing,” she said.
The messages are strategically placed on the mirror for a reason.
“A lot of girls go to the bathroom to look at themselves. Mental health can be a bad thing in this school just because people feel pressured and you can get anxiety from that.”
Castro’s biggest message: words are free and full of power.
“Affirmations can do so much for you. It can build you up in bigger ways and then sometimes you might not know it- it might be something small- but when you get told that, you’re constantly reminded- it builds in your head and you get to know that and you can make it and say I can do this,” she concluded.
Fairhope Middle School also has a positive affirmations system in place.
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