To Write Love On Bloomsburg

 In the past few years, you may have noticed t-shirts with phrases like “To Write Love on Her Arms” and “Love is the Movement.” You may never have figured out what those shirts meant. Sophomore Jessica Weber was intrigued by these phrases back in high school, and when she looked up their meaning, she was surprised with what she found.

   To Write Love on Her Arms (TWLOHA) began as a story told by Jamie Tworkowski. Tworkowski and some friends met a young girl struggling with addiction and self-injury, and they took it upon themselves to change this girl’s life using friendship, music and above all, hope.

   To help pay for their friend’s treatment they began selling t-shirts. The project found home on a MySpace page. With the help and support of alternative rock bands like Switchfoot and Anberlin (to name a few), the idea grew into something huge.

   TWLOHA (pronounced like “aloha,” but with a “tw” at the beginning), currently a nationally known organization, has become a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide. TWLOHA exists to encourage, inform, inspire, and also to invest directly into treatment and recovery.

   In November 2008, conferences were held for students who were interested in creating TWLOHA chapters at various colleges around the country. One of these students was Weber, and she came back to set up a chapter right here at Bloomsburg, making it one of 15 schools in the country to begin a chapter this fall.

   Weber, along with officers Rachel Walker, Madeline Kearney and Becca Howells, held their first meeting Tuesday evening with some 40 interested students, and they’ve got big plans for this new campus organization.

   “What TWLOHA - BU aims to do is to build a community on our campus, to reduce the stigma associated with the issues that TWLOHA deals with and to encourage students to reach out to the counseling center and other resources,” said Weber. “Through discussion groups, service projects and also artistic and social events on campus, we hope to accomplish these goals.”

   The organization focuses on open and honest discussion, a sense of community and even some personal experiences, which Weber, like most of us, has quite a bit of.

   “I feel drawn to this organization because six of my friends have attempted suicide, and that had a huge impact on me. I'm the girl that sleeps with her phone under her head every night, just in case,” said Weber.             “I watched several friends struggle with addiction and I’ve witnessed one family losing a son to an overdose,” Weber said.   “But I’ve also seen people get the help they need and come back from that and it's the most amazing thing ever - seeing that strength built back up, watching someone get control over their life again and see their own potential. It's so hopeful.”

   The organization is open and welcoming to everyone, of any background. Personal struggle or experience with others struggling with such issues is not required.

   “We're looking to prove that these issues are issues that everyone struggles with, that they're not white issues, they're not "emo" issues, they're not girl issues or teenage issues...they affect everyone, and nobody should have to go through them alone,” said Weber.

   Bloomsburg’s new chapter of TWLOHA isn’t too eager to announce what sort of events they’ll be sponsoring this year, as many are still in the planning stages. All that can be said is that the national organization is supported by a number of bands and musicians, and you may just see a few pop up around campus sometime this year.

   For more information, email twlohabu@gmail.com or visit the national organization’s website at twloha.com.