By Kate Tobiasson, Contributing Writer
Westborough – While the world is unquestionably filled with turmoil and conflict, 7-year-old Juliana Amato is working to help bring kindness to her neighborhood.
With the help of her mother and father, Juliana created a “Kindness Rocks” garden in the front of their home in Westborough. “Kindness Rocks” is an international movement started by Megan Murphy of Cape Cod. Its rules are simple: people write inspirational sayings on rocks, and leave them for others to find, posting pictures of their rocks on Facebook. Murphy has been thrilled to see the viral spread of kindness and inspirational sayings on rocks and the internet. This movement has touched many hearts, and Juliana wanted to help spread the importance of caring in her neighborhood.
“I started the rock garden because I wanted people to know that they should be kind,” Juliana explained. “My school, especially Ms. Catarius helped me to understand its importance.”
Juliana is a second-grader at the Annie E. Fales Elementary School in Westborough. Last spring, students painted rocks and wrote inspirational messages on them.
“This year, there is a wonderful new display that the staff worked to create at the main entryway to Fales. The rocks that the children made last year line the entrance,” Erin Amato, Juliana’s mother, explained.
Fales works to instill a character code of caring with their students, and it is clear that Juliana has taken this message to heart.
“I started the rock garden because I wanted people to know that they should be kind,” Juliana said. “We wrote, ‘Be Brave,’ ‘Be Strong,’ ‘Don’t Bully’ and ‘Be Kind’ on the rocks because those are important things.”
Juliana and her family live on a well-traveled street, and she worked to create an artistic display that many could see and appreciate her message of caring.
“I just want people to remember to be kind,” she smiled.
