HOW ONE LITTLE WORD ON A BRACELET PROMOTES SELF- LOVE AND KINDNESS
By Christina Nicholson
Mean girls.
Sometimes we meet them in elementary school.
Usually in middle school.
In high school, they are really good at disguising themselves as friends.
Then after, yes, they are still there in college and in the professional workplace.
Throughout this time, we learn how to deal with mean girls in a more useful way, instead of letting their antics hurt us, bring us down, embarrass us, or make us feel bad about ourselves.
How it began
For 29-year-old Adriana Carrig, it was with one word -- one word on a bracelet.
“While I was in college, I created a version of these bracelets to be passed around my college sorority,” says the College of New Jersey graduate. “The girls were so obsessed with the idea of ‘sharing kindness’ that it really took off. I kept thinking about that concept and knew I was on to something. What started as an exercise in positivity and self-love needed to become a movement.”
That movement is now known as Little Words Project, and its mission is to encourage women worldwide to be kind to themselves and to others.
Share the love
Little Words® bracelets are each made with a different inspirational word. Each bracelet comes with a code on the bracelet’s tag to register the word. (Just Log on to Little Words Project’s website, click ‘Register,’ and see how the site tracks the bracelet from person to person.)
When you’re done wearing your fabulous bracelet and no longer need the reminder on your wrist, you pass it along to someone who needs that motivational word a little more than you do—and track the bracelet’s ‘kindness’ journey online from person to person.
Some popular one-word bracelets include the words: strength, fearless, believe, breathe, inspire and grateful. These are words that a teen may need to get through a trying time in her life. When that time has passed, she passes the bracelet on.
Building her brand
In order to launch her business, Adriana had a hurdle to ‘jump’ over: she needed to tell her parents she wouldn’t be going to law school. Instead, she’d be clearing a space in the basement to launch her jewelry company.
“Knowing I had their support helped affirm my belief in this brand,” explains Adriana, who is based in Caldwell, New Jersey. “From then on, I knew I would spread this concept, these bracelets, to women everywhere.”
Adriana also didn’t have any business experience, so she learned something every single day -- from sourcing materials, forecasting sales, deciding best practices, and hiring a team.
“That’s something you have to be prepared for if you start your own business--the reality that you will have to work really, really hard to accomplish what you set out to do,” says Adriana. “Every experience, positive or negative, has been an opportunity to learn something and to improve myself.”
Drive and determination
“From my first month in business, there was a demand for these bracelets, because women needed the reminder, the motivation, or the inspiration,” says Adriana. “Not a day goes by where I don’t hear about a woman talking badly about another—which demonstrates just how important kindness amongst females really is.”
She adds: “It’s so important to empower one another as women and yet it’s shocking how infrequently that happens.”
That is exactly what drives Adriana: Knowing that she’s working toward a change in the way women treat one another--one little word at a time.
The stellar feedback
Women pick their Little Word® for inspiration; to remind them of a loved one, to empower them, or to spread good vibes. Basically, there is a different story behind every bracelet.
Some individuals have reached out to Little Words Project to share why their bracelet is so much more than just an accessory. For example, the person wearing bracelet tag #L137045P said: “I love having this bracelet as just a little reminder to be grateful for all the things in my life, whether they be big or small!”
The power of words
Phrases like “Nice Girl Gang” and “You can sit with us” (derived from the cult classic 2004 movie, Mean Girls) are common sayings you’ll find on the Little Words Project website and Instagram posts.
The best part of the bracelet is the access it grants to the community of Nice Girls, or women and girls who are dedicated to building each other up. When a bracelet owner registers her bracelet online, she joins ‘The Nice Girl Gang” –- a band of Little Word® wearing warriors who will always have her back.
Little Words Project bracelets start at just $20 and are available for purchase at: LittleWordsProject.com.
Christina Nicholson is a TV host and owner of Media Maven, a media relations and content marketing agency. She is also a family blogger at Christina All Day.