Caroline Elik gives the MU community a second chance at first impressions through the Instagram account @mizmissedconnections. The account offers a place for MU students to submit an anonymous Google Form submission telling their stories of things they wished they had said to someone.

She started the account after seeing another missed connections Instagram profile for a different university and loving the positive messages. She made the account anonymously and as it started growing, she revealed her identity to her followers. The account now has over 1,700 followers.

The anonymous nature of the account gives people a safe space to confess their true feelings. Some of the submissions offer sweet sentiments like “I hope Carley Siler had a good day today.” Others feature people professing their deep feelings of love that they were too nervous to say in person like “I’ve been in love with my best friend for two years.”

The account serves a simple purpose — to make someone’s day a little bit better.

“The goal is to just have it be something that is fun and a source of happiness, something to brighten someone’s day when they look at it,” Elik said. “That’s really the only goal that there is.”

So far Elik has received rave reviews for the wholesome account from her followers.

“I think it’s such an adorable account, and I love seeing people use social media platforms to spread positivity,” junior Lauren Greiner said. “I had two separate submissions call me out by name!”

Elik attributes the account’s popularity to the pandemic creating a less than ideal environment for students. She thinks it has been harder to meet new people, and many are looking to make new connections, especially ones they might have missed.

“It was such a nice surprise that made me smile and wonder,” senior Piper Stow, who had a submission written about her, said. “No matter if you hear it through an account like this, in person, or don’t hear it at all, there’s always someone out there appreciating your vibes for what they’re worth.”

After the tumultuous year of 2020, Elik believes there is a greater appreciation for the platform she has created to highlight these messages.

“People seem to really like it more than I ever thought they would,” Elik said. “I didn’t expect it to get so much love and so many followers.”

The account not only offers encouraging notes for others but has also become a source of joy for Elik herself.

“My favorite part about running the account has definitely been going through all the submissions in the Google Form that I use,” Elik said. “I love scrolling through them when I wake up in the morning and seeing what people have sent in a day.”

While most of the submissions are thoughtful and appropriate, with college students, there are bound to be some weird ones. Elik receives some questionable submissions that she finds funny, but she knows she can’t post.

Despite the occasional odd submission, Elik loves running @mizmissedconnections and looks forward to growing it in the future.

“Really the only hope that I have is that people continue to enjoy it,” Elik said.

_Edited by Angelina Edwards | aedwards@themaneater.com_