I am now employed at our local High School, and because of that, this week I had the privilege of attending a presentation that all of the students were attending. The presentation was called Rachel's Challenge. I was told I would need to bring tissues with me to the presentation. OK. So off I went with my coworker and my Kleenex. Several hundred of the high school students were in attendance for the time slot I attended. Beforehand, I read a brief description of what we were going to see and hear, but had no idea of the depth of emotion that went into putting together this presentation.
Rachel's Challenge is now an international program that was spawned out of the Columbine High School massacre of 1999. "Rachel" is 17 year old Rachel Scott, the first student to be shot and killed that day at Columbine High School. Are you getting any goosebumps yet? I was.
Her family knew how wonderful Rachel was but had no idea how many people's lives she had touched inside her high school during her time there. After she died, her parents found an essay that Rachel had written that was stuck under her mattress and six journals that she had written and kept, to herself. In the many journal entries, Rachel had formulated her own theories about life; she dreamed of a Utopian world in which everyone was kinder to each other and everyone was able to succeed in meeting their personal goals. Rachel practiced her kindness theory every day. She went out of her way to perform small random acts of kindness that touched people's lives and even led one of her classmates to decide not to commit suicide because of the kindness Rachel had shown him. She changed his outlook and his life's path. She felt that if one person performed some small act of kindness for another person, that person would in turn do the same for someone else and it would have a ripple effect all over the world. She called this her chain reaction of compassion and kindness. A pay it forward, if you will. She dreamed of the impact her idea would have on the world.
As I stood with the teachers and administrators, I felt many emotions. As a matter of fact, as soon as the speaker began to show us actual video shot during the Columbine shooting, I had a rush of sadness. I remembered watching that footage on TV that day as it unfolded and wondering how those parents didn't go mad worrying if their children were safe or dead inside their school. I remembered thinking that the parents of Eric Harris and Dylan Kleebold had to have their heads in the sand not to know anything was wrong with their sons; not to know their sons were obsessed with Hitler and had stockpiles of weapons, and bomb making materials they were working with; not to know they had for a few years posted violent photos and writing in their personal blogs. I got choked up in the first 5 minutes of the presentation. Every time they showed baby pictures of Rachel, or photos of her smiling with her brothers and sisters, it caused a Kleenex moment. As I glanced around the field house, I saw tears on cheeks of both teen girls and teen boys and many of the staff. I was clearly not the only one brandishing a Kleenex.
Throughout the 1 hour presentation, we saw videos, photos, and heard the Scott family friend give us his impressions and Rachel's family's impressions of the events of Columbine and how it affected their family and community. It was very powerful. He focused on Rachel for most of the hour. She was a kind girl and she also seemed to be psychic. The last year of her life, although not at all suicidal, she told friends and siblings that she knew she would die at a young age. She also wrote in her journal and on the wall in her bedroom behind her dresser (her family found this months after she passed away while moving the furniture in her bedroom) that although she would not live long, her life would touch millions of others.
Her family decided to make Rachel's wish or premonition a reality by starting her foundation and challenging others to live in the way that Rachel hoped people would choose to live- to set goals for themselves and to be kind to others, not to prejudge anyone by looks or disability; to treat everyone they way you would like to be treated.
For such a young person, this is a grand idea, a John Lennon-esque idea. The song "Imagine" comes to mind when you think of the world Rachel wanted to create. The Scott family wanted to make something good come out of the tragedy of their daughter's death and they have presented Rachel's Challenge to thousands of schools and businesses all over the world in the last few years. I give them a lot of credit for honoring their daughter in this way. I am sure many people in similar circumstances would have trouble simply getting out of bed every day after being hit with a horror of this magnitude. They not only get out of bed, they are living a continuous tribute to their daughter and have made this their life's work. The whole Scott family including siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, and close friends are all involved in their organization because they believe it can help to put a stop to bullying, improve grades, improve our children's lives, improve the atmosphere of a work place and in general, help the world at large. These are lofty but not unattainable goals.
I urge you to view a Rachel's Challenge presentation if you get the chance. It will make you think twice the next time a stereotype pops into your head when meeting someone for the first time. It will also make you go home and hug your family members tighter. Just the thought of what the Scott family and the other 12 families that lost loved ones at Columbine High School had to cope with is enough to make you want to accept Rachel's Challenge. In the words of the folk singer Jewel, "only kindness matters."
For more information on Rachel's Challenge, visit their website:
www.rachelschallenge.org
