True Life: I was ND Crushed.
The Twitter world is a widely popular part of social media that most of us can’t go a day without checking. For college students, Twitter is one of the first ways we find out about important news stories and when Miley Cyrus releases another totally absurd music video. You can say whatever you want in 140 characters or less, getting your point across in the simplest, funniest way possible. For many, what is said on Twitter is very important in order to stay up to date with society. Especially if you’re a teenage girl drinking a pumpkin spice latte…I mean, if you didn’t tweet about it, it didn’t happen, right? On Twitter, one can find several anonymous accounts run by some person who will never spill their super dark secret. These accounts have all the titles under the sun; anything from, “Common White Girl” to “Great Minds Quotes.”
Notre Dame is obviously up to date with this trend, too. From ND Problems to ND Jokes , and ND banana to ND dining hall salad of the day. (And @HCNotreDame of course!). Then there is the ever-so-famous, not-so-fabulous ND Crushes… On this lovely little Twitter account, you can anonymously send in your “crush confession.” These confessions can be quite flattering and when your name is featured, well then you must be pretty special! Not so much.
Take it from me; being “ND Crushed” is not all it’s cracked up to be. At first, I thought it was funny to read about people’s secret love interest or their thoughts on who is cute or not. But when your name comes up on ND Crushes…it’s like a whole new world, whether you like it or not. Your name is opened up to 2,732 followers. To an extent, the tweets are funny and just nothing to be worried about. But then…when the tweets are about your specific physical features that people think are “hot”, it isn’t as rewarding in fluffy-happy feelings. I was featured on the account a few times, in pretty rude ways. Nothing super crazy because thank goodness we are still the classy Notre Dame that we are, but still, not the most exciting thing to have looming over you. I received new followers and when I introduce myself to new people, 5% of them have asked, “From ND Crushes?” Nope, I’m from Florida. Sometimes it’s funny, sometimes it’s annoying.
So here’s to hoping that ND Crushes soon becomes what is was before (sincere and funny) because having this little “reputation” following me around is not fun at all. For someone who doesn’t do much to obtain such a “reputation,” I’m not too sure where these crushes are coming from, but either someone is laughing at their not-so funny joke, or someone thinks I’m somebody that I am most definitely not. Don’t get me wrong; ND Crushes has the potential to be something cute and super fun, so let’s keep it that way!
Hannah Drinkall is a Saint Mary’s College contributor to Her Campus Notre Dame.