Molly Shafer hadn’t always been considered a loner. During elementary and middle school in her home town of Waunakee, Wisc., the 18-year-old had been outgoing, but that all changed when she entered the local high school and began experiencing social anxiety in full force. She withdrew from her peers and closed herself off from friendship—at least until recently. Just before graduation, Shafer decided to reconnect with others in her grade through an unexpected act of kindness.
“There was a connection there at some point,” Shafer said in a recent interview with CBS Evening News. “I don’t know, I really wanted to just talk to them again, or be seen again.”
That feeling was mutual, with several people claiming that they hadn’t spoken to her in years or that they’d fallen out of touch with her.
“Not a lot of kids did hang out with her,” one student reported.
Being an artist, Shafer decided to paint herself out of her isolation. Nearly every day, she would climb up to a loft-turned-artist’s-studio in her family’s garage. There, she would spend hours painting portraits of all the kids she once knew, meticulously layering vibrant brushstrokes until a likeness emerged. She completed 44 paintings over the course of 600 hours, with each demanding about 13 hours of work. At the end of her senior year, she presented her peers with their respective portraits as keepsakes.
“It’s one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen someone do, especially for someone you aren’t that close with,” one of the students said.
Another added that Shafer’s project was “unbelievable,” while yet another said that she was “touched.” But, for some, the paintings also evoked remorse.
“All of us probably feel a little regret not paying more attention,” a student admitted. A different student confessed, “We did have that friendship, but I didn’t put forth the work to keep it.”
Shafer’s portraits offered her peers a new perspective into her character, one that was observant, thoughtful, creative, and, perhaps above all, resilient.
“You can’t go through life thinking that you don’t have friends because they don’t like you, because that’s not the case,” Shafer concluded. “People aren’t thinking that hard about you. It’s all in your head. You just have to try.”
High schooler named Molly Shafer withdrew from former friends due to social anxiety, but painting helped her reconnect with her peers before graduating.
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Shafer painted 44 portraits over the course of 600 hours, with each demanding about 13 hours of work.
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Source: Quiet high schooler paints portraits of entire class to reconnect before graduating
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