Students, faculty and other supporters gathered at Eastside High School (EHS) on Tuesday afternoon for a ceremony celebrating the unveiling of a new mural on campus. 

The 200-foot-long mural was a collaboration between students, volunteers, professional muralists and Mindful Messages: A Mural Movement, a nonprofit organization that started “with the goal of using murals to promote mindfulness, encouragement and community pride within schools,” according to a Mindful Messages press release. 

The mural at EHS represents the school’s history and legacy.  

“We have such a rich history,” EHS Principal Leroy Williams said while giving remarks, noting that the school was opened in 1970. “I can honestly say, being at Eastside High School since 2015, that history, it never stops, it never leaves us.” 

The mural is made up of several different colors and a series of images that span the length of the wall. These images include present-day students and students from the 1970s, along with football players, cheerleaders and musicians.  

At the end of the mural, there is a portrait of a student by the name of Yasmin wearing a headdress. The headdress has the words “Be Yourself” written on it.  

The EHS mural is the third big public-school mural that Mindful Messages has worked on since its establishment, according to founder Jenna Horner. She noted that the organization’s first large mural was at Fort Clark Middle School, with the second being at Gainesville High School.  

Horner said each mural has a mindful message that starts with “Be.” 

“All of them will start with ‘Be’ so that they [the students] can really think about being participants as young people in our world, whatever that looks like for them,” Horner said in an interview with Mainstreet. 

 The message for the EHS mural is “Be Yourself.” 

“Our goal was to make sure that they felt that uniqueness of who they all are, rather than a separation or anything divisive,” Horner said. “We wanted to really come in [and] celebrate the unique parts of who they are under the umbrella of kind of the whole culture of the school and Eastside’s component of being a part of Gainesville.” 

Horner said it took her roughly a year to come up with the design for the EHS mural.  

Painting began on March 9, according to the release.  

Horner worked with students for a week before finishing the mural over spring break (March 16-20) with the help of volunteers. 

She estimated that at least 200 students contributed to the mural. 

Several of these students attended the ceremony, including Kaleb Gordan, who reflected on being a part of the project. 

“This experience has really opened my eyes to new opportunities and ways of expression,” he said, pointing to the words ‘express yourself’ that he wrote on the bottom of the mural. “I feel like those two words are words that have been really impactful since my experience being at Eastside.” 

During the ceremony, which also included a performance by the EHS Ram Band, students who took part in the project had the opportunity to take photos with Horner in front of the mural. Students could also be seen taking individual pictures, as well.  

According to the release, Mindful Messages intends to continue working with schools across the region “to create additional murals that celebrate creativity, encouragement, and community connection.”  

Nick Anschultz is a Report for America corps member and writes about education for Mainstreet Daily News. This position is supported by local donations through the Community Catalyst for Local Journalism Fund at the Community Foundation of North Central Florida.