Candy Chang wasn’t looking to change the world.
She was just trying to make sense of her own.
When a woman who had been like a mother to her passed away, Candy found herself lost in grief.
The kind of grief that makes you question not just what’s gone, but what’s left.
What do we do with the time we still have?
How do we find meaning when life feels so fragile?
Candy didn’t have the answers.
What she had was an old, derelict building in her New Orleans neighborhood and an idea.
On the side of that building, she painted four simple words:
"Before I die, I want to..."
Below, she left space for others to fill in the blank.
Chalk was set out in a box, but beyond that, she let it be.
Maybe no one would notice. Maybe no one would care.
But Candy had learned enough about loss to know this much—she had to try.
The next day, she returned. The blank wall was no longer blank. It was bursting with life.
In looping letters, hesitant scrawls, and bold declarations, people had shared their dreams, fears, and hopes:
- "See the Northern Lights."
- "Forgive my father."
- "Find love."
- "Hug my mom one more time."
- "Make a difference."
Some of the entries were playful: "Be tried for piracy" or "Eat a whole pizza by myself."
Others carried the weight of quiet pain and longing.
But all of them spoke to a single truth:
Every person passing by that wall had something unfinished they were reaching for.
The wall didn’t just hold words. It held humanity.
Candy didn’t stop with that one building.
Word spread, and soon "Before I Die" walls began appearing in cities around the world.
From Cape Town to Tokyo, people picked up chalk and wrote their hearts out.
On every wall, the same themes emerged: connection, forgiveness, adventure, and love.
The things that make a life feel full.
For Candy, this project wasn’t about death, though it began with grief. It was about what comes next.
What we choose to do with the precious, fleeting time we have left.
The wall gave people permission to dream boldly, to reflect deeply, and to acknowledge the parts of themselves they often kept hidden.
It reminded everyone who stopped to look: this is your life, and it matters.
Loss has a way of stripping life down to its essentials.
Candy could have let her grief consume her.
Instead, she turned it outward, creating a space for others to share their hopes, their fears, and their humanity.
What began as her way of coping with loss became a movement that helped countless people rediscover what really mattered to them.
Sometimes, life feels overwhelming, the big questions too heavy to hold.
But Candy’s wall teaches us something important: we don’t have to have all the answers.
We just need the courage to ask the right questions.
Before I die, I want to...
What’s your answer?
This post was inspired by Mark Williamson's interview with Dr. Jessamy Hibberd for Action for Happiness.
