Lauren Paul
Hi! I am so happy that you are here checking out what Kind Campaign is all about! I grew up in Orange County California but came to Los Angeles to attend Pepperdine University where I studied Film/Television production.
Finding a way to stop girl-against-girl “crime” from happening is something that has been on my heart since I was twelve years old. For me, the hardest time was middle school, when a group of my girl friends turned on me. I can still vividly recall every torturous experience they put me through throughout 7th and 8th grade. I think the most important part of my story is how those experiences affected me as a young girl. I became scared to go to school, my grades started to drop, I was scared to answer the phone, and finding places to hide on campus became a daily routine. Through this time I battled depression and got to the point where I tried to take my own life in seventh grade. I know first hand how much it hurts to be called names, to be threatened and to feel like you are all alone.Read More
Growing up, every career I thought about had one main goal: to create an outlet and spread awareness about the emotional, verbal and physical abuse within female relationships. After working on a documentary during my junior year at Pepperdine, I realized that documentary film was the perfect way to tell this story. The minute Molly and I turned on the cameras and started interviewing, we realized it was crucial to create an even deeper conversation. It was then that we founded Kind Campaign, with the vision of starting a national school program for girls. We have started an important dialogue with hundreds of thousands of girls through our documentary and school assembly program and to be able to do all of this with one of my best friends is such a rewarding experience.
I truly hope that the message of Kind Campaign speaks to you, and that you know how special you are. When you go through this, it’s really hard to see outside your current experience or outside of your school halls and to know that you have so many different chapters of your life ahead of you. I promise you it get’s better and I am so thankful that I am here today, able to tell you that and to do the work that we do. I know it’s extremely hard to be a girl. It’s hard for ALL of us. However, I have confidence that through Kind Campaign, we will all come together to create a community and an awareness that will change this problem.
- When Lauren gets tired, which is often when we are on the road, she turns into a zombie and speaks gibberish. We call her Zoren.
- Over a meal or discussion, Lauren will pick apart whatever food or paper item is in front of her. By the time we leave, there are little bits and pieces of food or paper strewn across the table. You know that Lauren has been there.
- No matter what time of day, how far we’ve trekked, or what the occasion, Lauren’s hair is always looking INCREDIBLE. Being insecure about my own, I always look to her as the hair goddess with locks that I long for.
- Lauren likes to make up words. One of her most famous is ‘bun’. We use this in conversation as if every person we encounter knows what it means. After we receive funny looks, we realize that we must explain that bun encompasses all things cute, sweet, nice, pleasant, happy, and therefore, overall bun.
- Lauren has cat-like reflexes. She can catch something from the most awkward angle and at warp speeds.
Molly Thompson
Hey y’all! I am a true Texan at heart, having grown up there my entire life, before moving to California to attend Pepperdine University where I met my partner in KIND, Lauren. While at Pepperdine I studied acting and film/television production, joined Delta Gamma Fraternity, and studied abroad in Florence and London. During that time, mutual friends introduced me to the most wonderful man in the world, who now also happens to be my husband, Chris!
My passion for Kind Campaign stems from the experience that I had with girls in high school. A group of my friends ostracized me, making me anxious to come to school and scared to answer my phone. Throughout this experience I felt so alone, even though I had a small core group of friends that stuck by my side. At the end of the year apologies were given, and with time came healing and forgiveness.
This journey with Kind Campaign has completely changed my life. I am an extremely sensitive person, so even today I still struggle with feeling hurt by things that girls say or do, intentional or not. Thankfully, because of my previous experiences and because of the strength that I see in girl’s faces every single day as we travel, I look at the bigger picture now. I remind myself that we are all insecure and battling the exact same thing, we all want to be loved and accepted by the people around us. I am thankful for every single person that I have encountered on this journey; they have blessed me with such generosity, strength, and kindness.
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- Molly has a few staple dance moves. I just sat here and re-wrote an attempted description of these dance moves for about 10 minutes and realized there is really no wait to properly describe them. Lets just say, when Molly feels a beat, beautiful things happen.
- Molly has one of the biggest hearts of any person I have ever met. This heart of hers tends to result in tears. Molly can start a good cry in one second. It’s so bun.
- Molly’s room back at the house she grew up in is straight out of Clarissa Explains It All. Purple shag carpet, lime green bedspread and pink flamingos everywhere. It’s a sight to see.
- 9 out of 10 times that Molly answers the phone or leaves a message it begins with, “Hey baby girl!” And it’s said with a bit of an accent that I can’t quite pin.
- Molly has the most amazing laugh I have ever heard. It’s truly one of a kind. I could spot it from a mile away-which isn’t often cause she’s usually sitting right next to me.
