Getting yearbooks in middle school or high school can be a lot of fun. They make a great keepsake and are often filled with notes and signatures from your classmates.
Brody Ridder, a sixth-grader at The Academy of Charter Schools in Westminster, Colorado, received his yearbook and was hoping to fill it with signatures from his peers, but everyone refused to sign his book.
In an interview with KDVR News, Ridder said, “I went up to people and I asked them, ‘Can you sign my yearbook?’ and some of them were like, ‘no.'”
Photo: flickr/woodleywonderworksGoing home with an empty yearbook was a devastating blow after a year of being bullied. Brody’s classmates would often tease him and bully him to the point that he’d leave school early.
While two or three people did end up signing their names in Brody’s yearbook, he shared with the outlet that it made him feel “useless” to see the results of his book.
His mom, Cassandra Ridder, spoke with the news outlet, too, saying that it broke her heart to see her son’s empty yearbook. Ridder had left himself a note to fill some of the space that read, “Hope you make some more friends. — Brody Ridder.”
Photo: flickr/woodleywonderworks “That was really hard to see and read as a mom,” Cassandra said.
Wanting to support her son, Cassandra took a photo of Brody’s yearbook and shared it in a Facebook group with local parents of the school. It wasn’t long before people began talking and other schools got involved! In fact, some senior students from a separate school got together and decided to line up to sign Brody’s yearbook.
One of the students who helped arrange the signing, Simone Lightfoot, said: “We walked in and we were like where’s Brody at? Is Brody Ridder in here? And they’re like yeah he’s in the back and we’re like Brody! We’re here to sign your yearbook bud.”
Photo: Wikimedia Commons Brody received over 100 signatures, including many paragraphs of support and notes of encouragement. Some people even left their phone numbers for Brody to call if he ever needed a listening ear!
Speaking with the news outlet, Brody said he felt a lot better after receiving so many signatures and words of support. It’s nice to know you have some friends, even if they’re friends you’ve never met before!
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