By: Ryan Guo
Brody Ridder, a twelve-year-old boy who lives in Colorado, came back from school with a yearbook filled with only 4 signatures, 2 from teachers and 2 from other students.
Brody decided to sign his own yearbook with: “Hope you make some more friends,” he wrote to himself.
With only getting four total signatures, Brody’s mom Cassandra Ridder reached her breaking point. Brody had been getting bullied at his school for months, and this led to Cassandra sharing a message on Brody’s school Facebook group.
“My poor son. Doesn’t seem like it’s getting any better. 2 teachers and a total of 2 students wrote in his yearbook. Despite Brody asking all kinds of kids to sign it. So Brody took it upon himself to write to himself. My heart is shattered Teach your kids kindness.” Cassandra said in her post.
Despite posting on the school group, Cassandra also posted on her personal Facebook account, as she wanted to tell her friends what was going on, and this caused celebrities, companies, and many others to reach out online and in person to show Brody support.
One person who saw Cassandra’s post was Paul Rudd, the famous actor who played Ant-Man in Ant-Man, Ant-Man and the Wasp, and Avengers Endgame. Rudd facetimed Brody around a month ago and even sent him a handwritten note that read: “It’s important to remember that even when life gets tough that things get better. There are so many people that love you and think you are the coolest kid there is — me being one of them!”
Besides the note, Rudd also sent Brody a signatured Ant-Man helmet. “To my good friend Brody. For when he takes on the world,” Rudd wrote.
“We put it in one of those little helmet cases,” Cassandra said to NPR. “Now he’s storing it in his room, displaying it. He’s so proud of it.”
When Brody returned to school, many high schoolers visited him and they all signed his yearbook. Cassandra said that the support made Brody really happy and positive.
Sources: https://s3.amazonaws.com/appforest_uf/f1657495925754x933060827132662800/Paul%20Rudd%20becomes%20a%20real-life%20hero%20for%20a%20bullied%20Colorado%20boy%20_%20NPR.pdf