We all know that life is a journey full of challenges and hurdles we need to overcome.

As adults, we have come to know how to work around the things we cannot control, and somehow, age and experience have helped us in coping with these things. But, when we were all too young to understand, being open about change and moving on is definitely so much harder.

One teacher from Oklahoma knows that her students need to be guided as they come of age, so she thought of one way to help them cope.

Every morning, Karen Loewe asks her students to write down all of the challenges that they are currently facing. After completing the seatwork, the students are instructed to put them inside a bag hanging by the door and leave them there.

Once done with the activity, they all start their day in school and forget about the things they have written.

Karen thought of this method to plant an idea in her students’ minds and that idea is leaving all the negativity behind.

By writing down all of their current hardships and physically leaving the note in the bag by the door, she hopes to make the kids feel that they can let go of those struggles and differences and move on because life has so much more in store for them. Holding onto the things that stress them will not do them any good, so they need to leave those behind.

“The leave-it-at-the-door means like: ‘Don’t let that past define you. It happened. It made you who you are, but don’t dwell on it forever and ever. You’ve got to move past it,” Karen explained.

Some of the notes left in the bag were also read but the writers’ names were not mentioned.

Reading the notes anonymously was a way for the kids to know that they are not alone. Other kids in the class are also going through tough times, and everyone has a story to tell.

Kindness is instilled in their hearts by being able to understand the other people in the classroom who also are not in a good place.

The notes had various kinds of stories that usually involve heavy issues.

Some kids are sharing about abuse, while there are also notes about family problems. There were even ones that mentioned suicide and drugs.

The students are not all open about these hardships, but by writing them down, they become aware of the things that happen to kids their age and be more understanding of their own situations.

As a teacher, Karen knew that her responsibility is not only to make sure that they have a good education.

Karen knew that she needs to help the kids grow up to be kind citizens and good members of society. And, in her simple but effective way, she was able to make her students feel included and heard.

Find out more about this inspiring story by watching the video below.

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Source: My Positive Outlooks, CBS 17