The other day, I miraculously decided to re-download the app Yik Yak. I had had the app over a year ago when it was somewhat popular around campus and to be honest, I don’t know how many still use it or take it seriously. My nosey self just decided to see what’s going in the minds of SUNY Cortland. In the short time of having the app since my revival and even shorter time of scrolling through it I learned a whole lot.

Amongst the things I learned, I lost my school ID and someone returned it in Corey Union. Yes for all you Yak friendly users I was the red head that left it at the printer. Thank you kind soul for returning it. More importantly, I learned that people are talking about more than just how they wish for a FWB to “Netflix and Chill” with.

I was beyond shocked and saddened about posts I would see about students very depressed and using Yik Yak as an outlet for their grief. Some spoke about how anxiety controlled their day-to-day life. Some spoke about how they can’t bear to tell their parents how depressed they are. Some wish for just someone to talk to about their grief. I realized Yik Yak is being used as sometimes the only outlet for people begging for help because it is anonymous and while nobody seems to take the app seriously, it makes me realize we all need to open our eyes on social media.

If you have ever spoken true to your feelings on Yik Yak or any other social media site, or even feel like you cannot speak up to anyone at all, my object is to not at all call you out, but instead to reach out.

I myself was relieved by some of the sometimes dozens of responses to these Yaks by the SUNY Cortland area saying “I’ve been there, it get’s better” or “somebody cares about you.” It shows the true humanity the school does hold.

I’m not a mental health professional or even studying to be one however, but I know how to be a daughter, a sister, a friend. I know how I would feel if a parent, sibling, or friend ever felt so unhappy and felt like they couldn’t reach out. I know I would offer love and support and while the same can’t be said for everyone, there have been days that we all feel like we need someone to care.

We have all had days that we were unsure how we would be happy again, or where our happiness would come from. Sometimes you wake up and feel you have nothing to look forward to. You’re sick of the same routine. You can’t seem to get yourself out of a rut and you’re confused why. Or something really tragic has happened to you and there are no words to even describe the feeling

I will never begin to relate the feeling of being a stressed out college student to being diagnosed with depression. Our minds are sometimes too powerful for our own good. According to the Archives of General Psychiatric, 6.8 million Americans suffer from major depression. That is over 6% of the population.

When someone is diagnosed with cancer or a clinical condition everyone gathers around and offers support and love. Often times, when it comes to mental health, people back off or don’t know what to say. Why is that? Because it is not visible to eye? I will not pretend to understand why but I will say there’s always tomorrow. There’s always another day. There’s always someone who loves you. There’s always someone who cares. Yik Yak has proven that strangers care. You’re classmate’s care. I care. Nobody deserves to feel like his or her only outlook of relief is to post anonymously on a social media app. However, I’m not sure anyone’s ever said so, but I will say, I was proud of SUNY Cortland on Yik Yak when I saw that. There were about 25 replies to someone displaying their sadness and all of them were encouraging the user to push on and talk to someone; all of them showed genuine compassion.

I can’t pretend to understand or make anyone believe I have any answers to happy life. Sometimes no matter what’s in front of you or how happy you may be able to pretend to be, you’re just not. The bottom line is somebody always cares and it does get better and there’s always someone willing to listen even when it feels like there isn’t. There’s more to come after that bad day. There’s more to come after SUNY Cortland. The best days of your life can be yet to come and in the words of Gary Allen, every storm runs out of rain.

BuzzFeed Video posted this incredible story of Kevin who survived his suicide attempt of jumping from the Golden Gate Bridge. I personally believe it is an inspiring story and worth it for everyone to watch. Whether suffering from a mental health issue or not, we all need to work for awareness of the epidemic if it can ever be fixed in the future.