"Don't Ever Change for Anybody": Meet the Yr 12 WA Girls Behind the Positive Muck-Up Day Project That Went Viral

Muck-up day headlines usually involve students getting suspended or even facing criminal charges, but that was not the case for one Perth school.

A muck-up day project from a group of Year 12 girls at Newman College in Perth went viral after it surprised many with its uplifting spirit. 

The group of students decided, instead of wrecking the school on muck-up day, they would write positive and empowering messages on more than 400 Post-It notes and stick them to the mirrors on two girls' bathrooms at the school.

The notes contained messages such as "Ur beautiful" and "Aspire to inspire" and were aimed to help younger students at the school feel better and encourage them to be positive.

So, to better understand how such a uniquely wholesome muck-up day happened, Student Edge spoke to Celeste and Isabelle from Newman College in Perth about how they pulled it off and what motivated them.

Celeste explains that the idea came up when her friend told her about a message she'd read on the mirror that made her day (it said, "you're beautiful"). It got Celeste thinking. She went to that same friend and asked her if they should write some more messages on sticky notes and cover the bathroom mirrors in positivity. 

"It was Celeste's idea, she's very modest," Isabelle chimes in. "It's really just an opportunity because muck-up day has a really negative rap and in our school; it's been banned because people always do the wrong thing." 

Once they had the idea and some interested volunteers, they made a Facebook group. It was the second last day of school and the day before muck-up day, so everyone went out and bought their own sticky notes and found messages and quotes on the internet to write. The next morning, the group of girls came early to school, only to find that the bathrooms were locked.

"The dean of the school [Mr. Geekie] was really positive about the message and he came down and helped us unlock the bathroom," Isabelle explains.

"Our first intention was just to fill one mirror, because we had about 400 sticky notes," Celeste admits. "About 10 minutes after we started, we filled one mirror already so we thought, why not do a second?"

As the day started and the rumours spread of the notes in the bathrooms, younger students from Year Seven and Eight flocked to take photos of the display, as well as grab some sticky notes for themselves.

"Some of the Year Seven and Eight students came in, they loved it," Celeste says. "It was something we totally didn't expect."

Isabelle explains that it made her feel really happy because she remembered what it was like to be in the younger years at high school.

"Schools can be quite brutal," Isabelle confesses. 

"I feel like if someone had done that for me, I would've felt so happy about my personal image, instead of looking in the mirror and criticising what I would see."

The bathrooms were so full during lunch, the Year 12s couldn't even get in. After the bell rang, the girls went in to check the mirrors and some of the notes had already been taken home.

I ask the girls if they think they've set a positive example for future years, and they admit to hoping someone goes on to do something even bigger in the same vein.

"As long as you're making a difference and empowering other girls and empowering other students, that's the best thing," Celeste says. 

But, Isabelle is content if the message just makes an impact now, "even just in their everyday life, even if it doesn't have a long impact."

"Some Year Eights might go to that bathroom mirror in a couple of months and instead of, you know, fixing their hair—"

"—Or worrying about the way they look," Celeste interjects.

"—They'll remember the positive messages and maybe it will leave just a bit of a legacy just for their personal life." 

Photo: Supplied