"A semicolon represents a sentence the author could have ended, but chose not to. The sentence is your life and the author is you," as mentioned in the website of "Project Semicolon."
In the report from MTV, people have semicolon tattoos as a part of a movement called "Project Semicolon."
"Supporters just chose to get the tattoos on their own. The project was started by asking others to draw a semicolon on their wrist to show support," as mentioned by Amy Bleuel, Founder and President, which can be seen in the article from People.
The official website revealed that the mission of the "Project Semicolon" is to encourage, love and inspire people who are struggling with depression, suicide, addiction and self-injury.
In addition, "Project Semicolon" is a faith-based nonprofit. Amy Bleuel explained on the website, "As we set forth in the project, we committed to loving with a Christ-like love those who are struggling. We inspire others through the very thing that brought us to continuance in our own stories. This by no means excludes any other beliefs or religions, as we accept them all. For we are all in this together."
In recent weeks, the movement has gone viral because people show support with others who are struggling with mental health issues, celebrating the road to recovery and giving determination to keep moving forward, as mentioned in the article from Cosmopolitan.
According to the official website, Amy Bleuel started this project after his father's suicide.
Last June 15, 2013, Amy Bleuel posted a flyer to Twitter by encouraging the people to draw semicolon on their wrist on June 16 to show support people with mental illness, as reported from Mashable.
People shared their tattoos and their stories in Instagram, Twitter or Tumblr using the hashtag #ProjectSemicolon, which can be seen in the articles of MTV, Cosmopolitan and Mashable.
In the official website, "Project Semicolon" clarifies that it is not a 24-hour helpline nor they (the people behind it) are trained mental health professional but it hopes to serve as an inspiration.
