If you’ve recently cut through the alley alongside Apple Tree Supermarket, you may have noticed a new mural on the side of the building that brought a smile to your face. And that’s exactly what it’s supposed to do. Back in 2002, Chicago-based artist and designer Mathew Hoffman created a simple sticker that read “You Are Beautiful” in order to spread some positivity in his neighborhood. He put the sticker everywhere, and eventually it evolved into a nationwide community lovingly referred to as YAB, according to the organization’s website.   
Hoffman is currently on a mission to put one YAB mural in every state in America and has encouraged people to write a letter about why they believed their city should be chosen. Ocean Beach resident Stephanie La Bue-Robles knew her upbeat and ever-accepting neighborhood would be the perfect home. “I knew I had some competition with San Francisco, Santa Barbara, and Santa Cruz, but I really wrote from my heart,” the 35-year-old yoga teacher said. “We are an eclectic community that loves art and that appreciates beauty in all forms. We’re really accepting here. It doesn’t matter what you look like, or how much money you have, or even if you have a house or not. OB accepts everybody.”
La Bue-Robles encourages people who see the sign to take a photo of it or with it and use the hashtags #yab, #yabsticker, or the local one she created, #youarebeautifulOB. For more information about YAB, visit you-are-beautiful.com.