Leave a Note at the Palo Alto Library Empathy Walls!

By: Erin M., Grade 10

Passing by one of the Palo Alto libraries, you may have seen a bright wall covered in sticky notes. At a glance, the walls might just seem like an array of squares, a cheerful display, something pretty to look at, but it is so much more than that. It is my heart, my hopes and dreams for change, my impact in this world. I wanted to create Empathy Walls, not just to create something pretty to look at but to create a community, a support system of understanding. I wanted to create Empathy Walls to spread joy and foster mental wellness. To help people realize that they are not alone. 

We live in a world today where our entire life is dominated by screens, and in the rush of today we often forget. We forget we are surrounded by human beings, by people just like you and me trying to get through each day. We forget that in the end we aren’t separate but the same. Too often, we let go of kindness, neglect empathy, and lose touch with one other.

And that’s what I love about Empathy Walls and what I love about what I do. They help us remember. They help us remember we are all humans, all humans going through adversity, humans who make mistakes, who burn out, who need support. They help us remember hope in a world of darkness, see light in mental midnights. Because what the Empathy Walls show is that everybody is willing to contribute a little goodness in the world, to leave a kind message in hopes to help those around that they have not yet even met. What the Empathy Walls show is that in the end, we are all capable of kindness, all here for each other and one another. To realize in the end we are not strangers but all the same. 

So with that I encourage you to visit a wall, read some notes and find your hope. Find your hope to write a note. Inspire others and find yourself.