Hey, We Got That PMA!

Written by Lux Marquez, Educators United & Pride@NU Club Member

College is chaos. The world is chaos. And if you’re reading this, you’re probably trying to survive both with your brain, your heart, and your dignity intact. So let’s talk about something radical, something loud, something that punches through the noise like a power chord at a basement show: Positive Mental Attitude—PMA, baby.

Now, before you roll your eyes and mutter “toxic positivity,” hear me out. PMA isn’t about pretending everything’s fine when it’s not. It’s about choosing to fight with love, with fire, and with the unshakable belief that you matter—even when the system says you don’t.

Bad Brains said it best: “Don’t care what they may say, we got that attitude!” That’s not just a lyric—it’s a battle cry. PMA is punk. It’s resistance. It’s showing up to class when your rent’s overdue, your government’s a mess, and your identity’s under attack. It’s writing that paper like it’s a manifesto. It’s organizing, surviving, and thriving in a world that wasn’t built for you. And Bikini Kill? “I’ve got the love that’s strong and not weak!” That’s the kind of love PMA demands. Love for yourself, your community, your weirdness, your rage. PMA doesn’t mean you’re never angry—it means your anger is rooted in hope, not despair.

In a world where marginalized students are told to shrink, PMA says: Take up space. Be loud. Be brilliant. Be unapologetically you. Whether you’re the only queer kid in your class, the first in your family to go to college, or just trying to stay afloat in a sea of deadlines and doomscrolling—PMA is your armor and your amplifier. So next time you’re staring down the barrel of that 10-page paper, a protest, or just another day of being alive in 2025, remember: You’ve got that attitude. And that attitude? It’s punk as hell.