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Pinning Positivity: Student Creates ‘Affirmation Tree’ to Promote Self-love

February 27, 2019

Elana Burack's Affirmation Tree installed in the lobby of the Fisher Fine Arts Library. Photo: Sophia Dai

from The Daily Pennsylvanian

In Fisher Fine Arts Library, a wire tree has leaf-shaped notecards with self-affirming messages dangling from its branches. The project, called the Affirmation Tree, was created by a Penn student to encourage positive self-reflection among students.

College senior Elana Burack, who launched the project Monday, said self-affirmations are statements that help people remember their values and their positive traits. Next to the tree, a sign asks students prompts including “What do you value, and why?,” “What is meaningful to you?,” and “I am proud of myself because…” and calls on them to pen their responses and hang the notecards on the tree.

Photo: Sophia Dai

To decide prompts for the tree, Burack reached out to Adam Grant, a management and psychology professor in the Wharton School, and Andrew Ward, a psychology professor at Swarthmore College. She said the professors helped point her towards self-affirmation research and suggested directions for the prompts.

The Affirmation Tree will remain in the lobby of Fisher Fine Arts until the end of this week. Burack said she plans to move the tree every few weeks to various locations around campus, including Houston Hall, Van Pelt Library, and Weingarten Learning Resources Center.

The Sachs Program for Arts Innovation

John McInerney (he/him)
Executive Director
215-573-0874
mcinernj@upenn.edu

Chloe Reison (she/her)
Associate Director
215-573-2159
reison@upenn.edu

Elizabeth Shaw (she/her)
Administrative Assistant
215-898-5930
elizshaw@upenn.edu

The Sachs Program for Arts Innovation offices are located at the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Pennsylvania.

3680 Walnut Street
Philadelphia PA

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