#chalkaboutlove

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For many this is the week of love, a week that is special because of Valentine's Day. It's easy to get wrapped up in chocolates, flowers, and cards and forget that some people don't have healthy love in their life. Enter #chalkaboutlove, a national initiative that promotes healthy teen relationships. The initiative is one that is roughly one week long and starts with a national school announcement about where to go for help if its needed. It also includes wearorange4love day (a day to wear Orange in solidarity), and positive and encouraging notes to remind everyone to talk about love. The initiative ties in nicely with the month of February as a whole which is teen dating violence awareness month.

As an ally from afar I do what I can to share Courtney's story and promote education on domestic violence in all its forms. Yesterday I spoke about Courtney and chalked about love with my students. Through teary eyes after watching the beautiful memorial vigil video and working through tough questions we spoke about knowing the signs of and why its important to talk about domestic violence. My students then made their own speech bubbles which will be displayed at the entrance of our building for the rest of the month.

Remembering Courtney as a bright spirit is easy , telling her story is hard, but educating our youth is so so worth it. I will forever and always chalk about love and talk about Courtney. 💜

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