Peace Takes a Walk by Walnut Grove

The Monks walked right past WG last week, while on the way to Washington D.C. Students at Walnut Grove share their experiences about seeing the Monks with the Walk for Peace.
by Makenzie Bass

​Thursday, January 2nd 2026, marked a wonderful moment in history for the little town of Walnut Grove. In the early hours of the morning, right in front of the high school marched the Buddhist Monks. Walking in from Texas, the group has had a remarkable journey, stopping at fire stations, restaurants, and public parks, and giving wonderful messages about peace to everyone coming to support them. Some of the students here at WG got to personally talk with them, while others just listened. 

Wyatt Hawkins (11) said that his favorite moment when seeing the monks was “Taking a picture with them.” While Spencer Ta (11) told the interviewer, “I think my favorite moment was when they were walking by, the person that was in the front gave me and my family a small, little blessing as he was walking by. I forgot exactly what it was, but he said peace, something, and happiness be with you.” Alannah Burns (11) added, “I actually listened to their whole prayer, and I didn’t understand it because it’s in their language, but it was very long and they take it very seriously. I learned that they all love each other and take care of each other, blood or not and family or not.”

When asked what if people think the march will bring peace, answers varied. But Holden Crescionie (12) stated, “On a super large scale, I don’t know, but the part of the message I say in on and listened to, there was a moment when they invited everyone to walk with them and everyone sort of just laughed. They said of course y’all can’t walk with us, you have jobs and families to look after, but you can walk with us in spirit, just by being kind and more mindful throughout your day. I thought that was cool and I think that something like that would stick with many people because it’s something small that people can think about during everyday life, rather than something large scale like world peace.” Spencer Ta (11) added, “I think if people are willing to listen, it will, but I’ve heard a few times of people acting against it and doing bad things to the monks.”

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Jodi Marks (11) said the Monks impacted her, “It was really cool, because everyone there watching them was really chill and respectful.” Alannah Burns (11) said “I’ve always been a big person of peace and, you know, that’s what they are all about and everything. Just hearing their journey, I think it is very inspirational.”

Many people said their favorite part was receiving a bracelet. To Marlee Mathis (11), the bracelets represent “Sharing with the community.” Taj Ovalles (11) said they represent “... joining them on the walk in spirit.”

“I guess when I originally thought about monks, I thought of completely untethered, so like no belongings or anything, but they are genuinely just people like you and I. They were wearing Adidas, because of course, they are walking like 30 miles a day, they are gonna need shoes. They are kind of thriving off of what people are giving to them. Just the fact that they don't give everything, they are still aware of what the real world situations are.” Holden Crescionie (12) responded when asked what he learned about their culture or beliefs. 


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Students had different things to say about this experience, but one thing remains the same. They are all glad they went to go support the Monks on their Walk for Peace. The Monks continue their adventure to Washington D.C. with the intention of bringing peace to the USA and making people realize that they need to slow down sometimes in life and enjoy it. 

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