The “Before I Die Project” is an interactive worldwide project coming to Oswego State. Johanna Molascon and Jordan Oathout, Oswego State students, are constructing the project and plan to complete in the spring. The walls of Tyler will be enshrouded in “Before I Die I want to ____” statements by Spring 2013 for students and the Oswego community to record their private goals in a public place.
Candy Chang originally created the “Before I Die Project.” Chang painted a wall of an abandoned house in her neighborhood in New Orleans, after the death of a loved one. With the use of chalk paint and stencils, she created the sentence “Before I Die I want to_______.” There is chalk placed by the wall so that people walking by and people in the community can fill in their own response.
The inspirational project has spread worldwide. Like Molascon and Oathout, many have recreated the project in their own community. There are “Before I Die” walls in Amsterdam, Mexico, the Netherlands, Kazakhstan and the list goes on.
A wall is made with primer, paint, spray paint, chalk, chalkboard paint and stencils. Chang created a website (candychang.com/before-i-die-in-nola) which provides you with instructions to build your own wall, a BEFORE I DIE Toolkit you can purchase and the option of sharing pictures of the wall you build. If you are interested in this project, you can create your own join in the creation of the project in Oswego State.
As for the construction of the wall itself, Oathout and Molascon plan to construct the wall with the help of supporters. As of now, they are expected to collaborate with Ted Winkworth from lifestyles and Becky Burch. They are looking to collaborate with the Counseling Center, CPS, and are still waiting to get a response from the art department. The project does not need funding, just supporters.
Both Oathout and Molascon have high hopes for this project and see it as a way to allow the Oswego community to express themselves and get their goals down in writing.
“It is a way for people to lay down goals and push their dreams, Jordan Oathout said.
According to Molascon and Oathout, writing down goals does not just motivate people but has the potential to connect the community. When wishes repeat themselves people feel understood and connected when they find that they share a common goal in life.
“It is a way to put private things in a public place, but it’s not just a way of knowing what you want to do, but the reality of what you’re doing,” Johanna Molascon said.
They believe that the wall should be a way for the Oswego community to connect, fear that building the wall on campus will seem like the project is only available to students and not to the entire community. Oswego State is a part of the Oswego community and Oathout and Molascon want this to be recognized.
“This is about remembering what is important, reflect what matters to us as both a community and as individuals,” Oathout said.
The campus will adapt Candy Chang’s “Before I Die Project” to our own community with the hard work of Johanna Molascon, Jordan Oathout and supporters on campus.
