It was a seemingly average day that I received a very abnormal text message. Essentially, the message said:
Hi Blake, I got your number from my babysitter who also goes to Cal Poly… My son is very concerned with the monsters he thinks are occupying our house and I am looking for a ‘big, strong guy’ to come pretend to be an inspector to show him there is nothing to be afraid of.
I explained that I was a graphic design student and she told me she would pay me for my time—the more convincing the better.
Below is the Monster Masher™ brand I created. A.K.A. the product of my mind reeling after receiving this text message.
Now, for the fun and real part!
I REALLY DID go do this! I met a young boy and his brother, walked through their home with the 2 kids and their parents and “inspected” all his problem areas. We looked under beds, in the closet, used a heat energy gun to ‘detect monsters’ (we found none) and used a black light to check for drool or footprints (also found none). I gave him a spray bottle I pasted my logo on with the name “Monster-B-Gone’ — it was really just lavender Febreze in a spray bottle I bought but the purpose was to repel monsters — and I let him keep the black light.
I did a walkthrough and spent time with the kids, making sure I didn’t leave before they had peace of mind. The little boy wrote me a letter thanking me and I made sure to tell them while concluding my time there:
I have never actually found a monster. My job is to look for them and help you prevent them from coming, but I think the best thing is to not be afraid.
We shouldn’t teach children to be afraid of things we know are not real.
