What Makes You Smile?

Kylie TAUGHT US To LIVE a life of joy in spite of hard things and To love those around us.

By: Rhonda Jernigan, Perimeter School kindergarten teacher

What makes you smile … a baby’s giggle, a day at the beach, puppies? Maybe birthday parties make you smile - if you are under a certain age. Kylie Day is about a birthday and smiles! This Thursday, February 24, we will be celebrating Kylie Day in honor of my niece, Kylie Myers, on her birthday.

Smiley Kylie

Kylie was a student at Perimeter School from 2008 to 2015, when she went to be with Jesus after a 10-month battle with cancer just days before her 13th birthday. When asked what they remember about Kylie, most people say her joy and her megawatt smile.

She loved smiling and she loved making other people smile, too! We called her Smiley Kylie even when she was a baby. When Kylie was with us, she wanted the people around her to be happy. She was the student her teacher would ask to show a new student around and help them make friends. When someone was alone in the lunchroom or on the playground, she would go over and sit with them. (Now there is a beautiful bright yellow bench with her name on it on the playground that is perfect for that!)

When her friend Bailey got very sick, Kylie carried her books that she couldn’t carry herself. When Bailey’s medicine made her lose her hair, Kylie wore a hat so Bailey wouldn’t feel alone. While she herself was very sick, she comforted her parents and her sisters when they were sad.

Kylie Day

Kylie Day is a way to honor and remember Kylie, but more than that, it is a way to lean into the lesson her life can teach all of us about living a life of joy in spite of hard things and loving those around us well.

Kylie knew her joy depended only on Jesus, and she managed to be filled with joy, even when there was nothing joyful about her circumstances.

Kylie would have been the first to tell you that she was just a normal girl. She loved her family. She loved animals, singing, dancing, and acting. And she absolutely loved to laugh. But she wasn’t perfect. Sometimes she argued with her sisters, and she frequently wanted dessert without eating her vegetables! But even so, this normal girl made a real difference and had an impact on the people around her. Her desire to make people smile and to make a difference are still affecting people, even though she isn’t here with us now. All of us have the potential to make that same kind of impact.

Wear Yellow and Make Someone Smile

As a school family, we will celebrate Kylie’s birthday by wearing yellow (Kylie’s favorite color) and by looking for ways we can make someone smile. We would be honored if you as a family would do that as well. Perhaps practice a random act of kindness or offer an encouraging word to someone who may need one. You could make cookies for a neighbor, mail a card to a senior adult, or pay for coffee for the person behind you in the drive-thru line. Be creative! Wear yellow and make someone smile!

I have received so many cherished and thoughtful expressions of love and care over the last few years on this special day. One sweet teacher and longtime friend wrote, “Rejoicing with you in the joy that Kylie is spreading today.”

I am so very grateful for this reminder that Kylie’s wish to make others happy is still being fulfilled! Kylie is still spreading joy! Kylie’s family’s desire is that she will be remembered. We love to hear her name spoken and know others remember her as well. We are all so very grateful to this covenant family, both for the way you were truly the hands and feet of Jesus when Kylie was sick and for the way you remember her now, by sharing kindness in her honor. 

When Kylie was diagnosed with cancer, smiles were hard to come by. Her dad came up with the idea of asking friends, neighbors, and eventually even strangers from all over the world who followed her story to send pictures of smiles to her, thus “Smiley for Kylie” was born. If you would like to know more about Kylie’s story and about the work to raise awareness of childhood cancer and the work to fund research to find a cure, please visit SmileyforKylie.org.