DIR Return Create A Forum - Home --------------------------------------------------------- Herricks Highlander HTML https://highlander.createaforum.com --------------------------------------------------------- ***************************************************** DIR Return to: Features ***************************************************** #Post#: 101-------------------------------------------------- Herricks Compliments: Why My Faith in Humanity is Restored (Mehr ab Ahsan '13) By: SharonShaji Date: December 5, 2012, 11:22 pm --------------------------------------------------------- After a particularly glum day of school, we are often in need of a pick-me-up. Whether it is a warm, venti sized white chocolate mocha from Starbucks or just a sob story movie marathon, we all try to cope in our own ways, but to what avail? We all know that we’ll always wind up texting our friends about how much our lives suck. But there’s something so mundane about this process; we subconsciously and voraciously expect to receive such comforts from our friends. In reality, we are just being uplifted by our friends whose specific purpose is to help us during on days when we are “feeling under the weather.” As a victim of this unfortunately predictable teenage cycle, I feel as though sometimes a cup of coffee and hugs from concerned friends aren’t enough. I’ve always yearned for something new. But that all changed when I received a friend request on Facebook from “Herricks Compliments.” My initial reaction to this webpage was very doubtful; when were people in our school nice enough to actually go out of their way to compliment each other? I’ve seen it all: Formspring, Tumblr, Ask Fm. Teenagers are always the victims of slurs and hate messages on social networking sites, never an appreciative comment. But, as I perused the contents of this strange profile, I saw people, even my friends, receiving hearty compliments from this new friend I had just added. “Johnny White, Bob Smith, and 20 other people liked this post” headed each one of these heartfelt posts. It was surreal. Was Herricks finally putting its right foot forward? It seemed so. After looking into who created this amazing Facebook page, I found that this whole system was based upon a system used by other colleges. From “Yale Compliments” to “Columbia Compliments,” many highly notable schools had already started this inspirational page. It tugs at my heartstrings to see our school following the footsteps of such renowned establishments. The premise of this ingenious idea is as follows: someone privately messages Herricks Compliments, and the page (or the selfless, unnamed person running the page) will publish it on Facebook for everyone to see. This allows anyone sending the compliments to remain anonymous and let’s them freely express their true thoughts about someone, without those awkward, angst-filled sentiments that always seem to run high school life. But the process doesn’t just end here. This completely altruistic page has inspired many to embark on their own quests of kindness. I logged onto Facebook just a few hours after viewing the first string of posts and was pleasantly surprised. The Herricks Compliments created a web craze of kindness. There were dozens of people that had “Like My Status for a Compliment” posts on their walls. I felt as though all I saw on Facebook were compliments to other people. It’s been unbelievable. I’ve never smiled cheek to cheek for so long. In just one weekend, I feel like it’s been one of the first times when our community has gelled together in a way never seen before. For the first time, it’s not nasty, stereotypical insults being flung at people, but rather, it’s genuine, kind compliments lighting up the days of its recipients. Now the only mystery left to solve is who the awesome person that made this page is. I can guarantee that he/she will be making LOTS of friends when we finally find out. *****************************************************