On Friday, May 25th, Mount Greylock students and teachers participated in the school’s very first Inside-Out Day. All students were encouraged to wear their clothes inside out in order to emphasize the concept that what’s on the inside matters more than what’s on the outside. This special day was created by Mt. Greylock junior, Lauren Jacobbe. Jacobbe got the inspiration to start this day after writing her English research paper on body images and the impact they have on society. While researching her topic and finding more about how much society glorifies “perfect bodies,” Jacobbe, with the help of her parents, got the idea to start this day at Mt. Greylock.

In an interview with the creator of Inside-Out Day herself, Jacobbe reflected on the goals she had for the day and any trepidations she had on it, as well: “my main goal was to try and help people with bad body images and spark something in them to start realizing that they should love their bodies for what they are, and not for what they aren’t. As we turned around our clothes, I wanted it to be a symbol for people to turn around their insecurities as well.” As a way to spread the word to the entire school, Jacobbe created posters, posted on social media, spoke to classrooms, and made several announcements on the loudspeaker. Jacobbe’s positive outlook on the topic influenced many Mt. Greylock students to take part in this special day even though she knew the concept of wearing your clothes inside out “is difficult for some people to think about and [understood] that it is not easy to do, but the purpose of this message was to get people thinking.” Jacobbe said that she knew not everybody would participate in the day, but “all that mattered was that at least, out of all of this, one person got affected.”

Looking back on the result of her efforts, Jacobbe stated that “I most definitely would consider Inside Out Day to be a success!” Jacobbe spent weeks of preparation to make sure the day had a good outcome. The school community looks forward to another Inside-Out Day in the future.