The Oatmeal describes the semicolon as “the most feared punctuation on earth.” The University of Wisconsin advises, “Semicolons help you connect closely related ideas when a style mark stronger than a comma is needed. By using semicolons effectively, you can make your writing sound more sophisticated.” However, throughout the country, semi-colons are neither inspiring fear nor being used strictly as a punctuation mark.
If you see a semi-colon tattooed or drawn on someone’s body, chances are, they don’t have a particular fondness for the often-intimidating punctuation mark. Rather, they’re participating in Project Semicolon. The goal of this project is to restore hope and confidence in people who are troubled by addiction, depression, self-harm, and suicide.
IMAGE SOURCE: FACEBOOK
What does instilling hope have to do with punctuation? According to the project, “A semicolon is used when an author could’ve chosen to end their sentence, but chose not to. The author is you and the sentence is your life.” By encouraging people to wear their struggles on their sleeves – literally – Project Semicolon aims to open up a dialogue about mental health.
IMAGE SOURCE: FACEBOOK
Amy Bluel founded the organization after tragically losing her father to suicide. She wanted to both honor her father and raise awareness for the mental health issues that ultimately contributed to his demise. Throughout the years, Project Semicolon extended far beyond Amy. The message of hope and love has reached an international audience.
IMAGE SOURCE: FACEBOOK
A semicolon tattoo symbolizes a commitment to the Project’s vision. The vision is ambitious. The vision is: “for the first time, people feel what real love is”, “to reduce suicide maths in America and around the world,” “that society no longer pushes mental illness, suicide, addiction and self-injury under the rug,” and more. Above all, “The vision is LOVE.”
Thanks to this project, people can see love all around them – on their social media feeds and in person.
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