TCU’s 10,323 students had the opportunity to share their personal stories with fellow Horned Frogs at the two-day Dear World campaign hosted by TCU Student Government Association (SGA).

The program encouraged members of the TCU community to write words of personal testimony or inspirational messages on their skin, said SGA Student Body Treasurer John Paul Watson.

“Within people’s stories, we see where they have been and what they have been through and in those diverse stories, we find a unique and interesting testimony from people in different walks of life,” Watson said. “After seeing what people bring to the table, you realize that in those differences, we have a lot more in common than we thought.”

Students’ stories ranged from overcoming depression to coming to TCU from a foreign country to simply celebrating life.

Students such as Caylin Moore, Gianna Tiedemann and Chloe Miller wrote personal messages that revealed more than expected—each with a powerful message that went deeper than the black marker on their skin.

Gianna Tiedemann, a junior psychology major, wrote “Bless Assurance” on her left arm for her father.

Gianna’s father passed away on Wednesday, February 24.

Chloe Miller, a sophomore biology major, wrote “Your biggest mistake, may be your biggest blessing” on her stomach in the black ink.

“The most trying part of my situation is definitely not being able to be my own son’s mom,” said Miller. “Sure he calls me Mama Chloe, but it’s hard not being able to be there for random, special moments each day.”

Although moments may be difficult, Miller says she has been so blessed with how the adoption turned out and she knows it is the best situation for not only her and his family, but also for her son.

HISTORY OF DEAR WORLD

Dear World started in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, said Executive Producer Jonah Evans.

“We just ran around asking people to share a love note to the city of New Orleans and what we found was that people started sharing stories of love, of loss, and of hope, and of fear and that these weren’t just New Orleans stores, these were human stories,” said Evans.

Evans said Dear World is an international campaign that has toured the United States, Europe and parts of Asia.

Here are some TCU horned frogs sharing their stories.