chalk graffiti

on valentines day, i was walking the half a block walk to the train when i saw quotes written in chalk on the side of the stone wall to the park. the quotes were centered around love, being in love, being beautiful. kelly wanted to do it closer to the end of school. she's an art teacher. my boyfriend, kelly, and i sat in the diner with a piece of paper and thought up things to write. things that our neighborhood needed to hear. things we wanted to tell our neighbors.

on wednesday night we walked around with a green bucket of chalk and that piece of paper. we enlisted a few more people (kelly's mom, sister, and niece and nephew (who came to surprise her for her birthday) and our friends elam & richard). easily one of the best nights of my life. we focused on a few main hubs. two train stops by our houses. kelly's school. the park.

people stopped to ask why we were writing what we were - and we had conversations with them. we let their kids draw too. we marked up the stairs to the train. we had people yell, "THANK YOU!" we loved and were responded to in love.

go do this in your neighborhood. especially if you live in a big city - where people are typically looking down and in a hurry.