Face to Face: Walk Up/Out Movement

April 9, 2018

Walk Up Movement

The ‘Walk Up, Not Out’ movement has swept the nation for the better. The movement was sparked when a father of a 14-year old girl who was killed in the recent Florida shooting, sent out a tweet. Ryan Petty tweeted out on March 13, the day before the nationwide walk out was about to take place. Petty’s tweet encouraged the children to walk up, not out. Walk up to the kid who sits alone at lunch, who is bullied or mistreated, Walk up to your teachers and thank them, Walk up to someone with other opinions and get to know them. This movement would spread kindness and positivity to schools all across the nation. Not only would it benefit the students but also the staff. The staff would be able to witness everyone being kind to each other to end bullying and harassment. It would lift weight and stress off their shoulders to see everyone getting along.
Positivity is always a good route to travel on. If you make someone’s day, you could easily prevent a shooting from occurring in your school. Even the small gesture of having a three minute conversation with someone could impact the way that they feel. Loneliness is a great killer. Feeling like you’re always alone and no one is there to be there for you is never something to make you feel better. Showing compassion and interest in another person could very easily make them feel not alone and prevent a chance of anyone ever getting hurt. Making friends is a great way to prevent harm. The world can always use more kindness.
While the walkout is a good way to make your point heard, you need to know what value it holds. You cannot use the walkout as a way to simply miss a class. If you don’t know what you’re walking for, then stay seated. If you’re disregarding the walkout’s intended purpose, stay seated. If you’re just following the crowd, stay seated. That’s why walking up to a student and trying to befriend them, is better than walking out without knowing your cause. When given a choice, always choose kindness. So, walk up, not out.

THE AHLAHASA • Copyright 2024 • FLEX WordPress Theme by SNOLog in