TIA bee stokes: A Positive social media influence

By Ella Paul, 2024

Published 12/14/20

We are living in a time where social media can have a negative impact on teenagers. These teens often feel the need to compare themselves to influencers or compete for the most followers. It is refreshing to come across an account focused solely on spreading positivity and inspiration to others.

In April of 2020, Tia Bee Stokes, a 34-year-old wife and mother of five, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. Through the months that she has been fighting cancer, Stokes has stayed positive each and everyday, updating her Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok following on her condition and using these outlets to motivate and encourage others.

Everyday, Stokes would do her signature dance on TikTok, telling her followers, who she calls her “tribe,” what day of her journey it was, what kind of treatments she would be enduring that day, and would remind her tribe that they were capable of anything with perseverance.

Despite Stokes’s battle with cancer, even combined with COVID-19 and pneumonia at one point, December 1st of 2020, marked her 221st day of fighting leukemia, and Stokes announced that it would be her last day of chemotherapy. The next day, her 222nd day of fighting, Stokes had a stem cell transplant and is now on the road to recovery.

This account goes to show how one woman can use the power of positivity on social media to inspire hundreds of thousands of people. Whether she’s dancing, or posting about her cancer journey, Tia Stokes is always smiling, persevering, and encouraging others. If you are looking for some positivity check out any of her social media accounts, they are sure to make you smile and we all could use a dose of her courage and strength these days.