On December 13th, 2016, there was an assembly where the bleachers were full of purple.

Motivational speaker Houston Kraft was invited to talk to Arapahoe, and while he was here he spoke about love. It was an assembly that focused on how far Arapahoe has come and how the efforts must continue.

Kraft focused on principles using phrases that are important to Arapahoe students, reminding students how to be Warrior Strong and care for one another and he reiterated that the most important thing is how someone makes others feel. He made the crowd laugh, cry, and afterward, people felt a real call to action.

The audience was told to model the Davis family through fear, to not let anger get in the way of forgiveness. He reminded everyone that interactions with others are the one percent of things that will be remembered years from now.

Kraft didn’t just talk about love in the general sense, he focused in on four Greek words for love.

One: Familial love.

Two: Love from friends that is formed through similarities.

Three: Romantic love and attraction.

Four, the most important type: Unconditional love. Love that is expressed regardless how one is feeling, respect and forgiveness that are given even if the person didn’t ask for it or earn it. Unconditional love is a love that helps and stays true, even if the person giving love is having a bad day.

That kind of love requires everyone to remember that it’s not all about them, that there are more important things going on than their own happiness, and no matter how things are, someone will always have it worse and someone will always have it better.  

Even if loving someone is hard, it is worth it because people deserve to be loved. “Even if don’t like someone, you can still love them” said Kraft.

These are all beliefs that Kraft shared with Arapahoe, and it’s exactly what role models, teachers, and the Davis family have been practicing.

He was the perfect speaker for the Deliberate Acts of Love and Kindness Week, and after speaking in the gym he talked more about the practical applications of love to a smaller group in the forum.

Kraft stressed the importance of taking directly to a person, and the importance of reaching one person face to face then using positive tactics that are sometimes impersonal, like post-it notes and posters.

The most important takeaway from Kraft’s message is to not just know about love but to show it always and to put actions to motivational words.