BILLINGS — Julie Eskandari sees the beauty in the little things and even in the not-so-beautiful things - like a rock.
She loves taking something simple and perhaps boring and transforming it into something beautiful and meaningful.
“Trying to get people to smile when they all of a sudden find a rock. It’s just like, oh wow I found something, this is cool,” Eskandari said Tuesday.
And she hides them all over Billings, like a kindness-spreading treasure hunt. This idea is nothing new— others do it in town and in cities all over, but Eskandari wants to put a new spin on it. She has decorated rocks for four different cities.
Having a daughter who just recently started school at West High School, Eskandari knows kids sometimes need a simple act to brighten their day. So, she reached out to the school and brought them 40 rocks that she's painted, drawn on and, her special trick, temporarily tattooed.
“Who needs a smile more than a kid that’s going through hormones, friendships, ups and downs and just, you know, who needs it more than that,” she said.
And Eskandari isn't the only one using rocks to spread kindness in Billings. There is a kindness rock garden opening Thursday in front of United Way at 2173 Overland Ave.
“We work in an environment that has a lot of foot traffic and we just felt like it was a gift we could give to our community,” said CEO of United Way of Yellowstone County Kim Lewis on Wednesday.
She added: “Life is hard, everybody needs a reason to keep going and be hopeful that tomorrow can be a better day."
