From Jan. 7th through Jan. 11th, Irvington Let’s Bring Change to Mind (LBC2M) hosted their annual Positivity Week to ease the transition back from Winter Break. Positivity week is typically  around December or January to help students relieve stress before finals week. This year’s positivity week featured poster and post-it making, self-care kits, and a self-care presentation.

Positivity week’s first activity was poster and post-it making on Monday at lunch in room 42. LBC2M officers worked on decorating a large poster asking “What Motivates You?” which was then passed around the classroom for students to add short answers to. Notes ranged from light hearted responses of “all the H9ers” to more serious replies such as “what my parents have given up for me.” Members also used colorful markers and bright post-its to decorate the group poster with positive messages, including motivational quotes from famous figures, words from Winnie the Pooh, and other short and sweet messages. These post-its were later posted on random lockers, in classrooms, and on the walls around campus.

On Thursday in Ms. Miller’s Flex advisory, LBC2M hosted a workshop where students assembled  their own “self-care kits”. The workshop began with a presentation and seminar on teenage self-care. Participants then discussed the codependent relationship between physical and mental health. The self-care kits that include face masks, sweet treats, coloring pages, tea bags, and inspirational messages on stickers, are meant to help students take care of their bodies, and in turn, their minds. Miller also provided markers for students to creatively decorate their self care kits with kind messages or other sweet artwork.

LBC2M planned a self-care presentation that was to conclude Positivity Week. However, Ms. Yan working to the rule prevented the club from holding this presentation. The presentation was supposed to question and answer what self-care is, and the importance of it. LBC2M intended to talk about the impact of stress on this generation’s high school students, and the connection between stress and self-care. LBC2M’s philosophy stresses to fight the stigma behind mental health as well as the negative stigma and criticism toward self-care. The presentation would conclude with a note on the quality of gratitude and how taking care of others can be, in turn, a way of caring for yourself.

“Even though we were cut short on Friday with the self care presentation, Positivity Week was an overall success. For our main event with self care kits, I think students were really able to take a break from school, especially with finals coming up soon, and to learn to treat yourself. On that note, however, we truly wish for teachers to get their raises soon and for Work to Rule to end, because mental health is just so important and clubs like ours’ are sometimes the only or most accessible resource for high schoolers,” said President Jake Yim.