Teen turns graffiti bullying into positive message
Carleigh O’Connell of New Jersey heard from friends at school that someone spray-painted “Carleigh’s ass” across a cement barrier at a nearby beach. Instead of getting upset about it, she turned it around for other bullying victims to learn from.
Carleigh O’Connell
Carleigh found the graffiti and posed with it in her swimsuit. She posted the photo on Instagram that’s gone viral with messages of support. Carleigh explained in an interview that “I wanted to show whoever decided to write that that I was stronger than that. It didn’t impact me at all. I didn’t put my head down, I didn’t cry about it. I didn’t give the kids the power they wanted.”
“The biggest message I want to get across is just to be strong, and that anyone who is experiencing bullying and anything like that, that they’re not alone and there’s people there for them — and I’m one of them.”
Nice going, Carleigh. You’re mature handling of this will benefit others.
