With laughter, the message of love, and the title of “Professional Hugger,” Houston Kraft left the students of Wenatchee High School with one last thing on their mind during Monday’s assembly: compassion.

“I want to change the way people think about compassion, kindness, and love. I think there is a lot of confusion around what love looks like and how to practice it in our everyday lives. But I can’t think of anything more important to practice. The world needs our generation to understand how to be more loving and I want to do a small part in helping create a more compassionate world,” Kraft said.

Kraft has been spoken to more than 300 schools and nearly 300,000 people since he started his journey four years ago. He has also been involved with student leadership since he was a junior in high school and was student body president at Snohomish High School, and class president when he attended Bowdoin College in Maine. He loves acting and even headed to Hollywood where he was in a movie with Lindsay Lohan, which he believes is why he chose not to continue acting.

“My senior year of college, I got put in touch with someone who spoke to high schools and middle schools and I thought, ‘This is way better than auditioning for toothpaste commercials. This allows me to be on stage and perform, but do it with a purpose.’ And I love it, I love being able to share stories that connect with people,” he said.

Along with his personal experiences from as far back as elementary school, Kraft also tells the stories he’s heard from his audience members over the years. With these stories he tells his audience they aren’t alone, that everyone has a story to tell and to not be so quick to judge.

“Most people treat people based on the way they feel,” Kraft said.

The most rewarding thing about his job is being able to give young people permission to be passionate and to be different, he said.

“It’s not normal in our world to be kind and I believe that most people want to be good, but so many of us don’t know what good looks like or we are too scared to stand up for goodness in the world. I love seeing students take that challenge and do amazing things for other people,” Kraft said.

The term Agape Week was brought up multiple times throughout the assembly and the school week, but not many of the students at WHS really knew what the term meant. “Agape Week is an opportunity to talk about love in a meaningful way,” Kraft said. “It’s a change to think about love not just as a feeling but as a choice, an action that we can practice even when it’s uncomfortable, challenging, or we are scared to death. It’s a week to think about how to apply love throughout the rest of the year and your life.”

After leaving the students of WHS with much to think about, Kraft wants his audience to know that they are tremendously powerful people.

“… Our small choices not only define us, but they shape the stories of the people around us,” Kraft said.

Kraft’s time at WHS was short, as he had to do other performance the same day, but he did his best to talk to the students who did approach him. His time was limited but his message was permanent.

You can follow the Love on Twitter and Instagram: @houstonkraft #chooselove. Get daily ways to practice love with the app and website www.CharacterStrong.com.