The campus of William & Mary awoke on Wednesday morning to find a string of uplifting messages that had begun in the early hours of the morning on Yik Yak. Here are some of the highlights from the “Positive Thought” trend.
Even though it’s “just a social media app” and one that’s anonymous, too, most people turn to Yik Yak on this campus for everything. Whether it’s to complain, to relax, or even to make funny jokes, people choose this form of communication because their names are not attached to the Yaks and comments that are posted. After the events of this week and this weekend, the users of Yik Yak became very negative, turning to bullying and anger over things that should have been left alone. In response to this negativity, one person on Yik Yak started a trend. They wanted all of us to post positive thoughts to help those of us struggling get out of the negativity or at least have a break from the cloud that surrounds our every day lives. This trend is beautiful and worth sharing because it’s allowed us to actually come together and lift each other up, no matter how small. It was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who told us that “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” So it only makes sense that negativity cannot drive out negativity, only positivity can do that.
When we are having a rough time, it’s always nice to know that there are people out there thinking of us and to be reminded that there is always a positive spin to live. Some of us are stuck in our pessimistic ways, some of us are too stressed out to even think a positive thought, and still there are some of us who, no matter how hard we try to think positively, we still revert back to our usual way of thinking. And sometimes we think too much about the bigger things in life that we forget to look for the little things and we miss out on cherishing them. Hopefully some of these “Positive Thoughts” can help encourage you to get through today and every day. Always remember, you are loved.