Happy Warrior Blog Wednesday! I hope you are enjoying your week.
I am so excited to announce my championship with the You Matter Marathon and share my own personal experience as a participant for several years! This is similar to my other partnerships such as RedCard and BabyJay’s, however, this organization is so near and dear to my heart.
When I was in early high school, I heard about the You Matter Marathon from my mom, and she encouraged me to look into it. I saw that they sent you cards that say “you matter” to give out to people. I was SO excited about this, so I ordered my very own pack of cards and it sent me into a frenzy. I’ve participated in the marathon every single year since that day. Not to mention, the cards came in a cute little purple bag. It’s like it was fate.
As you probably know if you’ve been around the blog for a while or just know my background, I struggled immensely in high school. These cards helped me feel like me again and it was my own little secret that I could place them on people’s desks, in their lockers, or even hand them over in the hallways. Reminding others that they matter helped remind me that I matter too, even on days when I didn’t believe it.
On the really tough days, I made myself feel better by making someone else smile. My favorite scenarios were the ones where I saw people sitting alone in class or visibly upset. I’d place a card on their desk when they got up and when they got back, I could visibly see their mood shift. You’ve probably heard the saying “hurt people hurt people” and it became my mission to NOT exemplify that. I changed it to “hurt people HELP people” and that is exactly when these cards came into play. I’ve seen the life-changing effects they have, not just on me, but so many people.
The cards even traveled with me when I moved to Kansas, giving every girl at the Miss Kansas competition a card and a personalized message to go with it.
I am thrilled that Cheryl Rice, founder of the You Matter Marathon, was interested in setting up a call with ME. I had received her emails every year and she was basically a celebrity to me. Flash forward several years, I got to meet her face to face and she said that she was inspired by my work. What an honor!
I will be serving as a Champion for the You Matter Marathon. This is basically a partnership where I will share my story and testimony while encouraging others to join the campaign! This has been a dream of mine and I am still in utter disbelief that it is becoming reality.
You Matter. You are so so so loved! So excited for all of the amazing things ahead as a Champion for the You Matter Marathon!
