It’s a Harsh World

Sometimes, the world can feel so serious. With climate change, political unrest, racial injustice, and a global pandemic, it can sometimes feel like it is hard to breathe. As a junior in college pursuing a degree in a major that feels highly saturated, the weight of “what if?” can feel more than present. Everyday I get up, and try to study hard to understand the weight my job can carry. I try to understand the depth of influence certain news outlets have. I try because I know that journalists can change the world. But, waking up every day and trying and trying and trying can make anyone exhausted. Even with a positive mindset, it is only natural that sometimes negativity would win. It can be hard to want to get up and continue working for something that can feel futile.

I have to say the world can feel pretty dark. Yet, with all the darkness, there are good things happening in the world. The hard part is to remind myself of it. Social media is one of the best ways to get news tailored to what you would like. For me, I have had to decide that if I am going to have news feeds on my social media then I would have more positive than negative news products filtering through my feed. One of the most encouraging news feeds I encourage people to follow is @justgirlproject. The Just Girl Project Official is a magazine-esque platform that focuses on educating people about varying issues, but they highlight the good in the situation. Some of my favorite posts by them are ones that focus on

encouraging people in their daily lives with bright colors, cool fonts, and beautiful imagery. They are using their platform not only to encourage, but to educate. They are helping people see the light in a world that seems so dark.

Another account I like to follow is @gradulthood. Gradulthood markets itself as a community. The focus of the account is to highlight what it is like to be a graduate student in the world that we are living in today. They use calming colors with a bright aesthetic to bring a little laughter and joy to the crazy world of graduate school. I think some of my favorite posts by them are the ones that are rooted in the irony of our global situation. Even though almost every post is riddled with irony, I found the account so encouraging because they are addressing what we are all feeling. The creators see that people are struggling and instead of overlooking it, they are addressing it in a light hearted way. They are helping shine a light in a world that can seem so dark.

With both of the accounts above they focus on encouragement in the now, while @thefabstory focuses on how to move forward. The Fabulous App is marketed as an app page and they claim to “Use science to better your well being,” according to Instagram. I appreciate that they use their page to help people understand certain aspects of what they are going through, but more importantly they help people understand how to move on from where they are. The creators of this account are working to help people not only understand what they are going through but be able to power through it. They are helping shine light in this world that can seem so dark.

Social media is a weird space to find encouragement, but in 2021, I highly recommend following one or all of these accounts to be able to help see some light that may be hard to see. There are people in the world that are trying to help those who feel stuck in a moment walk out on the other side.