When my alarm clock went off Wednesday morning one thought was on my mind.

Purple. I need to wear purple.

I didn’t want to wear purple because I had this amazing outfit picked out to go with my new shoes; I wanted to wear it in honor of all the kids who have recently taken their lives. It was supposed to be a nationwide event. Wear purple. Show support.

The suicides have been all over the news. Kids being bullied, feeling rejected by their peers. It’s heart breaking.

I expected to be in a sea of purple as I walked down the hallways that day, but I saw very few people wearing it at all. And many of the people who did have on purple didn’t even wear it for any reason in particular. It was mere coincidence. 

Earlier this week was a whole different story. Everywhere you saw people with red tape on their face to support the “Pro-Life” organization Stand True. No one looked down on them for it either — in fact, they were praised for taking a stand for their beliefs.

Yet this day, several students were overheard in the hallways mocking the “Wear Purple Day.” That attitude is what pushed these kids to commit suicide in the first place.

What does that tell you?

When you live in Tomball there is one thing you can always count on — people are conservative. Their views are as right as they go.

So the school didn’t have the turnout that was expected. But we were just taking a stand. Doing the same thing everyone did the day before. Shouldn’t we have been honored too?