The bite-sized stories, mostly submitted by college students, each end with a three-letter acronym mirroring the hugely popular Web site FMyLife.com.

However, instead of ending posts with "FML" to comment on the miseries of life, the new Web site ends each post with GMH ("Gives me hope") to commemorate moments of joyful surprise.

"My fiancée and I were on FML, and we thought they were hilarious, like most college students do," said Emerson Spartz, 22, co-founder of GMH. "But we both, at some point, found ourselves getting tired of the stories, and we started talking and both agreed that we were exhausted by negativity. Not just in our age group, but our culture in general.

"So we thought, ‘Why isn't there a place where people can share their uplifting moments – not just their depressing and horrible moments?' And that's why we created Gives Me Hope."

Spartz and his fiancée, Gaby Montero, 21, launched GivesMeHope.com, or GMH, on May 31.

In its first 24 hours, the Web site received more than 100,000 unique visitors. In less than two months, GMH has become a source of inspiration for hundreds of thousands.

"There's one girl that said she was thinking about discontinuing her studies. She had kind of lost hope — she had two more years to finish and she was about to quit," Montero said. "After reading all of the GMH's, she said they restored her faith in humanity, so she decided to finish her studies. That just really touched me – thinking that we can impact people's lives that we don't even know personally."

Montero said she and Spartz receive e-mails with all sorts of testimonials of how reading the GMH stories has improved readers' lives – from boosting their self-image to bringing them back from the verge of suicide.

"People were saying that although nothing like [the hopeful stories on GMH] has ever happened to them, every day they now have the belief that that may happen to them in the near future," Montero said.

"People just find out that other people really do care – and it's the small things that matter, because even though they aren't the things that will pop up in the news. Each little act of kindness affects so many people, and we're so happy to see all the people who are regaining their hope through Gives Me Hope."

The stories – always in 350 characters or less – range from oft-unnoticed daily highs to remarkable stories worthy of tear-jerking films.

"I woke up one morning to hear the birds outside my window and my mother cooking breakfast downstairs. I've never cried so much in my entire life. I had been deaf since the age of 8. GMH"

"During WWII, my friend's grandpa was captured and tortured, but he refused to reveal his mission. The Japanese said if he didn't spill, they would kill the other five captured men. He wouldn't budge. He escaped, but he had to live with their blood on his hands. 25 years later, he found out they all lived. Not a single one talked. GMH"

"Today, I woke up and my wife was more beautiful than I'd ever seen her. We've been married 15 years. GMH"

Spartz began his online ventures at the age of 12, when he created MuggleNet.com – the most-visited Harry Potter site in the world. The site now receives 15 million hits per month and employs a staff of 120.

Montero hails from Quito, Ecuador, and is also the founder of DailyCute.net, a popular "cute site" chock-full of fluffy kitten and playful hippo photos.

In addition to GMH, Montero and Spartz also collaborated on Givoogle.com, launched June 26, where users raise money for charity every time they use Google.

To continue the pair's online-charity trend, 100 percent of the proceeds of GMH benefit the Boys and Girls Club of America.

"I've seen the impact that the local Boys and Girls Club chapter has had in my community, and they're consistently one of the most effective and charitable organizations in the country," Spartz said. "Gives Me Hope is a Web site that can provide hope to young people, and that's something we wanted our charity to reflect."

"I woke up one morning to hear

the birds outside my window and my

mother cooking breakfast

downstairs. I had been deaf since

the age of 8. GMH"

-Author unknown