By The Shy Caterpillar
On Jan. 9, 2026, I decided to drop off four illustrated, poetic postcards at a student help desk at the University of Waterloo. It was a daunting experience for someone with social anxiety, and I’m still not fully sure why that day felt right.
The poem on those first cards, which I still vividly remember, involved a disagreement between my mind, which wanted to go to the beach, and my heart, which preferred the forest.
I shared with a few more spaces that January: a lovely student office, the Office of the Ombudsperson, as well as a supportive professor I know well. However, because of the cold winter weather and a bit of self-doubt, I decided to stop for a while.
Then, in mid-February, I tried again by sending a dozen emails one night, not fully sure why. A few kind replies came the next morning, and the project, the shy caterpillar says hi!, quietly restarted. Due to the unexpected support from the university community, for which the shy caterpillar is so grateful, my artwork has since been shared with around 100 different and wonderful places, from departments to residences to student associations. Before starting the project, I thought I would maybe connect with at most five places and stop after a month.
The name of the initiative is a personal reflection on healing and growing as someone shy. Saying hi to people I don’t know was and is challenging for me. As well, caterpillars, in my view, are growing, imperfect and transforming beings still figuring everything out, much like myself.
The postcards usually have warm and colourful prints such as whimsical Studio Ghibli scenes full of clouds and castles. The reverse side is all the caterpillar’s—a place to doodle and draw! This usually involves something uplifting, often nature-themed, such as metaphorical islands in the ocean of optimism. Somewhere on each card is also a simple caterpillar doodle with two eyes and a smile on a circular face, next to a tube-like body.
As of late, the theme of the cards is often inspired by the place they are being shared with, whether that is microbes, computers, stars, or chemical reactions, to name a few. Then, the cards are shared, sometimes in-person, sometimes by mail, and sometimes by email, usually once per place with deep respect, gratitude and appreciation.
As I reflect on this project so far, two meaningful points come to mind. First, above all, the community at the University of Waterloo is wonderful. So many people at the university have shown their warmth and kindness for the shy caterpillar, from making special displays on bulletin boards to sharing their own lovely artwork as a reply. Second, even shy students and those with social anxiety often want to connect with others, but finding how to engage can sometimes be daunting in university spaces. This experience has helped me realize that social engagement can be small and still meaningful, such as a brief interaction of sharing postcards with someone, which can act as a comfortable middle-ground between formal events and not engaging at all.
And last but not least, the shy caterpillar has a small doodle for The Community Edition from a visit to the country of curiosity! Please enjoy this little comic!
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