On April 20, 1999 in Littleton, Colorado, one of the worst school shootings in America took place. Two boys who attended Columbine High School were being bullied, and decided to do something about it. They walked onto school grounds that day armed with two shotguns and bombs. Their plan: set off two small bombs in the cafeteria moments before lunch and then shoot the students as they fled the cafeteria. However, the bombs failed to activate. So the boys decided to walk into the school for plan B. Their first random victim: Rachel Joy Scott. +
Rachel was an avid writer and great student. She wasn't the smartest. She wasn't the prettiest. Se wasn't the most popular. She was just a normal high school student. Yet, she was different. She saw the best in everyone. She was one of those people that was friends with everyone, and stood up for what she believed was right.
Rachel had many influences. One of them was Anne Frank, a Holocaust victim. Anne Frank wrote down her feelings and dreams in a journal, which has been preserved thanks to a close friend of the Franks. Anne's idea of keeping a journal inspired Rachel to keep one as well. Not just one journal, but six.
Through her journal writings, we see that Rachel struggled with her faith, doubted God at times, but desired to live a life for God. She wrote "Since Jesus gave His life for Me, I will give my life to Him." She demonstrated her beliefs in everyday things, such as inviting the new girl to sit with her at lunch, or standing up for someone being bullied. When a new girl arrived in school one day, she was having a hellish day. The girl said, "What made my day was Rachel coming up to me and asking if I wanted to join her and her friends for lunch. I declined, not wanting to intrude. Rachel left, but came back two minutes later, carrying her lunch over to my table, and she sat down with her two friends and ate lunch with me." With the bullying incident, a disabled boy was being bullied by a couple of athletes because he was different. They knocked his books from his hands and started teasing him and calling him names. Rachel caught this one day and stood between the boy and his bullies, telling the bullies to stop. They did.
On the back of her sixth journal, there is a quote from Rachel.
"I will not be labeled as average."
Rachel wanted to impact the world. At the age of thirteen, she traced the outline of both her hands on her bedroom wall and wrote inside of them. It said: "These hands belong to Rachel Joy Scott and will someday touch millions of people's hearts."
Rachel's main goal of life was to start a chain reaction. She theorized that if one person went out of their way to be kind to another, then people would follow their lead, and start a chain reaction. She wanted to change the world, to change it with kindness.
Rachel was kind to everyone she met. She tried not to judge and tried to become friends with everyone. Key word: Tried. Rachel knew that she wasn't perfect. She even wrote in a journal one time that she had her ups and downs. But she goes on to say how she never gave up, and how no one should ever give up.
On the day of Rachel's death, she decided to sit outside and eat lunch with a friend on the grass who wanted to talk to her about his parents getting a divorce, since she had gone through the same experience. The boys entered the school where Rachel was sitting. Behind her was the door to the school that led to the library. The boys shot Rachel, piercing her diary as well. She was the first to die. Another twelve were to die as well, as well as thirty or more injured. Before the police could catch the two, the boys took their own lives in the library after causing such a traumatic event.
The a week after Rachel died, her father received a random call from a businessman in Ohio. He offered his condolences to the family, but then told Rachel's dad about a constant dream that he had starting the day after the shooting. He described the scene in his dream. It was of two eyes, innocent eyes, and they were crying. Something right beneath the tears in the ground was growing, sprouting life. A few days later, the police called and said that Rachel's backpack could be picked up from the station, as they were finished using it as evidence. Her father took the sixth diary from her bag and opened it to the last entry, where Rachel had drawn a pair of eyes with tears raining down upon a growing flower. The number of tears falling from the eyes was thirteen, one for each innocent person that died at the shooting that day.
Rachel Joy Scott leaves us with five challenges today.
1) Dream big
Your dreams are your guides for your future. Not only should you dream big, but you need to pursue your dreams, and you should never, ever, EVER give up.
2) Choose positive influences
We are surrounded with a bunch of people. Everyone has a story, and not everyone makes the best decisions for themselves. If you hang around people who work hard and try their best, you are most likely going to work hard and try your best. The people around you influence you, whether you want to believe it or not. You can act one way with one group of friends, and then have a completely different personality with another. Peer pressure is common among all age groups. Peer pressure is an influential factor. It influences us to do stuff that we may or may not be comfortable with. Rachel wrote a letter to her cousin one time, and she says, "Don't let your character change color with your environment. Find out who you are and let it stay its true color." If you want to live a life of faith, ask yourself...do I have important people in my life that share that faith.
3) Look for the best in everyone
Prejudice is a common issue among everyone. Not one person alive today can honestly say that they've never looked at someone and judged them before without getting to even know them. We can judge people in numerous ways: how they dress, how they speak, what color skin they have, how popular they are, how smart they are, and so many others. Rachel tried to eliminate prejudice from her life, and searched for the best in everyone she met. And that's what she wants us to do. In every person, there is something good because they are created in the image and likeness of God. Sometimes that good thing is hidden or buried deep down, but it's there. We just need to search for it.
4) Be kind to everyone
What some people don't understand is that words can hurt. Sure, words can make you feel good and elated, but they can also ruin your day. Words can be a person's worst weapon. When you receive a compliment, you feel happy and joyful, glad that someone recognized you for something good that you've done. That feeling, most of the time, is temporary. However, when someone is insulted, that feeling of despair and depression is carried around a whole lot longer. You remember how you felt when you received a compliment or an insult because words are powerful. And people just don't seem to realize that all the time. Even if it is meant as a joke, they can hurt. And while some people are pretty good at hiding their true feelings and can go around with a fake smile, others cannot, and sometimes poor decisions are made because of the influence of words. Someone once came up with this saying:
You see that teenage girl over there with the newborn baby you just called a slut? She was raped last year
You see that little boy you just made fun of for crying? His mother is dying.
You see that girl you just called fat? She spends all her time starving herself, striving to be skinny.
You see that man that you teased for having scars covering his entire face? He fought valiantly for our country.
Stop the bullying. Words hurt.
Behind every person is a story, and we don't know every single person's story. Therefore we should be kind and compassionate to everyone.
5) Start your own your own chain reaction
Rachel Joy wanted to start a chain reaction of kindness. She wanted to change the world. Now, I want you to close your eyes, and picture the ten people you love the most standing there in front of you, smiling and waving. Your parents. Your siblings. Your friends. Your teachers. Now I want you to go to them. Not over text. Not over Facebook. Not over Twitter. But actually go to them in the flesh and tell them how much you love them. How much they mean to you. There will be a day they won't be here anymore with you. Someday, you won't be here with them. We aren't guaranteed tomorrow, we aren't guaranteed five minutes. Rachel chose to live her live to the fullest with whatever time God gave her.
Rachel proposes these five challenges to us. Do you accept Rachel's challenge?
Rachel was an avid writer and great student. She wasn't the smartest. She wasn't the prettiest. Se wasn't the most popular. She was just a normal high school student. Yet, she was different. She saw the best in everyone. She was one of those people that was friends with everyone, and stood up for what she believed was right.
Rachel had many influences. One of them was Anne Frank, a Holocaust victim. Anne Frank wrote down her feelings and dreams in a journal, which has been preserved thanks to a close friend of the Franks. Anne's idea of keeping a journal inspired Rachel to keep one as well. Not just one journal, but six.
Through her journal writings, we see that Rachel struggled with her faith, doubted God at times, but desired to live a life for God. She wrote "Since Jesus gave His life for Me, I will give my life to Him." She demonstrated her beliefs in everyday things, such as inviting the new girl to sit with her at lunch, or standing up for someone being bullied. When a new girl arrived in school one day, she was having a hellish day. The girl said, "What made my day was Rachel coming up to me and asking if I wanted to join her and her friends for lunch. I declined, not wanting to intrude. Rachel left, but came back two minutes later, carrying her lunch over to my table, and she sat down with her two friends and ate lunch with me." With the bullying incident, a disabled boy was being bullied by a couple of athletes because he was different. They knocked his books from his hands and started teasing him and calling him names. Rachel caught this one day and stood between the boy and his bullies, telling the bullies to stop. They did.
On the back of her sixth journal, there is a quote from Rachel.
"I will not be labeled as average."
Rachel wanted to impact the world. At the age of thirteen, she traced the outline of both her hands on her bedroom wall and wrote inside of them. It said: "These hands belong to Rachel Joy Scott and will someday touch millions of people's hearts."
Rachel's main goal of life was to start a chain reaction. She theorized that if one person went out of their way to be kind to another, then people would follow their lead, and start a chain reaction. She wanted to change the world, to change it with kindness.
Rachel was kind to everyone she met. She tried not to judge and tried to become friends with everyone. Key word: Tried. Rachel knew that she wasn't perfect. She even wrote in a journal one time that she had her ups and downs. But she goes on to say how she never gave up, and how no one should ever give up.
On the day of Rachel's death, she decided to sit outside and eat lunch with a friend on the grass who wanted to talk to her about his parents getting a divorce, since she had gone through the same experience. The boys entered the school where Rachel was sitting. Behind her was the door to the school that led to the library. The boys shot Rachel, piercing her diary as well. She was the first to die. Another twelve were to die as well, as well as thirty or more injured. Before the police could catch the two, the boys took their own lives in the library after causing such a traumatic event.
The a week after Rachel died, her father received a random call from a businessman in Ohio. He offered his condolences to the family, but then told Rachel's dad about a constant dream that he had starting the day after the shooting. He described the scene in his dream. It was of two eyes, innocent eyes, and they were crying. Something right beneath the tears in the ground was growing, sprouting life. A few days later, the police called and said that Rachel's backpack could be picked up from the station, as they were finished using it as evidence. Her father took the sixth diary from her bag and opened it to the last entry, where Rachel had drawn a pair of eyes with tears raining down upon a growing flower. The number of tears falling from the eyes was thirteen, one for each innocent person that died at the shooting that day.
Rachel Joy Scott leaves us with five challenges today.
1) Dream big
Your dreams are your guides for your future. Not only should you dream big, but you need to pursue your dreams, and you should never, ever, EVER give up.
2) Choose positive influences
We are surrounded with a bunch of people. Everyone has a story, and not everyone makes the best decisions for themselves. If you hang around people who work hard and try their best, you are most likely going to work hard and try your best. The people around you influence you, whether you want to believe it or not. You can act one way with one group of friends, and then have a completely different personality with another. Peer pressure is common among all age groups. Peer pressure is an influential factor. It influences us to do stuff that we may or may not be comfortable with. Rachel wrote a letter to her cousin one time, and she says, "Don't let your character change color with your environment. Find out who you are and let it stay its true color." If you want to live a life of faith, ask yourself...do I have important people in my life that share that faith.
3) Look for the best in everyone
Prejudice is a common issue among everyone. Not one person alive today can honestly say that they've never looked at someone and judged them before without getting to even know them. We can judge people in numerous ways: how they dress, how they speak, what color skin they have, how popular they are, how smart they are, and so many others. Rachel tried to eliminate prejudice from her life, and searched for the best in everyone she met. And that's what she wants us to do. In every person, there is something good because they are created in the image and likeness of God. Sometimes that good thing is hidden or buried deep down, but it's there. We just need to search for it.
4) Be kind to everyone
What some people don't understand is that words can hurt. Sure, words can make you feel good and elated, but they can also ruin your day. Words can be a person's worst weapon. When you receive a compliment, you feel happy and joyful, glad that someone recognized you for something good that you've done. That feeling, most of the time, is temporary. However, when someone is insulted, that feeling of despair and depression is carried around a whole lot longer. You remember how you felt when you received a compliment or an insult because words are powerful. And people just don't seem to realize that all the time. Even if it is meant as a joke, they can hurt. And while some people are pretty good at hiding their true feelings and can go around with a fake smile, others cannot, and sometimes poor decisions are made because of the influence of words. Someone once came up with this saying:
You see that teenage girl over there with the newborn baby you just called a slut? She was raped last year
You see that little boy you just made fun of for crying? His mother is dying.
You see that girl you just called fat? She spends all her time starving herself, striving to be skinny.
You see that man that you teased for having scars covering his entire face? He fought valiantly for our country.
Stop the bullying. Words hurt.
Behind every person is a story, and we don't know every single person's story. Therefore we should be kind and compassionate to everyone.
5) Start your own your own chain reaction
Rachel Joy wanted to start a chain reaction of kindness. She wanted to change the world. Now, I want you to close your eyes, and picture the ten people you love the most standing there in front of you, smiling and waving. Your parents. Your siblings. Your friends. Your teachers. Now I want you to go to them. Not over text. Not over Facebook. Not over Twitter. But actually go to them in the flesh and tell them how much you love them. How much they mean to you. There will be a day they won't be here anymore with you. Someday, you won't be here with them. We aren't guaranteed tomorrow, we aren't guaranteed five minutes. Rachel chose to live her live to the fullest with whatever time God gave her.
Rachel proposes these five challenges to us. Do you accept Rachel's challenge?
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