Words Matter
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Words Matter began as a su***de prevention & anti-bullying art exhibit by Jessica Tookey. Its first exhibition was in 2016 in Meridian, ID.
In 2019, it will hit the road with Jessica and be shown all over the nation. It began with portraits of 7 girls who were bullied because they aren't your typical beauty and 7 victims of su***de. Since it's launch in April of 2016, the portraits have doubled and our team has grown to include Fashion, Music, Storytelling and Art. We are planning a huge event to create awareness and raise money for su***de prevention.
12/12/2025
48 years... more real talk so someone out there knows they're not alone and it does get better if you just keep going.
But first...
I have to thank all the people I love (family, friends and ... you know who you are), my new friends and my coworkers for making me feel special today.
I woke up to the sweetest gift from someone I love dearly and messages from many of you. I found a gift in the mailbox from that someone 😘 and a card from my momma. Got THE BEST birthday voicemail from my mom (hilarious). Then flowers at my door from my baby girl and her hubby when I got to the shop. Big hugs and happy birthdays from coworkers. DELICIOUS cookies and a sweet card from one of my favorite people (thank you Michael), more flowers from two of my favorites (thank you LaDonna and Gary for always making me feel special when I need it most), tons of messages, almost the entire kitchen and crew of The Cooking Show singing me happy birthday and giving me a candle in a piece of Key Lime Pie (thank you again Michael)... tons more messages and hugs.
Thank you all for making me feel so loved!
Looking back, it is wild that I would've missed it all if I hadn't decided to keep going. At least a dozen or so times in the last 40 or so years I had a plan to exit (a handful of times I was close to going through with it).
I honestly was not expecting to make it this long so each day is a gift. I started battling my own mind in elementary school. The first time I voiced that I thought everyone would be better off without me, I was in the 3rd grade.
It is easy to focus on what's missing. On what I did wrong. On how worthless and unwanted I was. That's where my mind went for a long as I can remember (not every day was a struggle to keep going but far too many were).
Three times in the last 5 years the voice convincing me I didn't matter blasted my consciousness. All because of hurtful words from someone who claimed to love me.
The last time I sat contemplating and blaming myself for someone else's actions was July of 2024...
but then, that night,
I realized that the thoughts that were attempting to destroy me were not my own....❤️🔥
Continued in comments❤️
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