This is a story about beauty – the beauty of strength, of empowerment, of hope. It’s a story of not allowing your circumstances define where you will end up in life. It’s not about dwelling in your past, but of being free to create a future of positivity no matter what your story holds. But above all of that, it’s a call to action to change how society perceives bullying and to acknowledge our generation is hurting.

To This Day is a spoken word poem written by Shane Koyczan, recounting not only his experiences but how year after year a new generation of youth is being issued into a “class” shaped by the effects of bullying. Rather than letting the poem live as it was, Shane took an initial step colliding creative worlds together by transforming his spoken words into a multi-media piece. Teaming up with production company Giant Ant to literally bring the poem to life, Shane, alongside 88 animators,created an emotion-fueled and striking video.

Each animator who took part in the project put together 20 seconds of imagery revolving around specific lines of Shane’s poem. The end result is an evolving yet visually solid piece of art. Although each clip is not seen in it’s entirety within the video, all 88 videos created by the volunteer artists can be seen on the project’s vimeo page. Focused on bullying, the powerful message transcends to those who have dealt with any form of hurt and focuses on the path to rebuilding and finding the positive in everything. It’s a reminder that our actions effect others and by recognizing this, we can be the ones to help the change.

In highlighting the issues behind the lasting impact of of bullying, the video is a prime example of what can bloom when people work toward a common good. The project also directs people to tools that families and schools can look into (Bullying.org). Already making its viral rounds around the web, we can only hope the message continues to spread.

Check out the full video above to see the art and message come alive.

– Juan Frausto

(Video credit: vimeo)