I am a bit of an Instagram addict. I can’t explain why, but I feel an overwhelming sense of satisfaction when I double tap a picture and see that little heart pop up on the screen. To get away from the usual “selfies” on my homepage, I always resort to these three Instagrammers, who have quickly become favorites because of their evident passions and unique perspective.
@humansofny has become my number one go-to account. Unlike the normal “outfit of the day” or food posts, this account observes the diversity and eccentric personalities of various people in bustling New York City. The owner of this Instagram is Brandon Stanton, who approaches random people to interview and photograph them. The posts range from silly to thought provoking and every time I glance at my phone, I can be sure to be greeted with a new, fascinating story. HONY is one of the reason that I enjoy Instagram—the people photographed are just so real. My favorite ones are the simplest, such as a man with crutches who admits that he broke a bone because he just randomly fell on the sidewalk. Or a man with a bright orange shirt and tie with the caption, “You’re either a good person or a bad person. It doesn’t matter what color or religion you are. You’re good. Or you’re bad.” There is no limit to the range of topics on this account; there are posts with a woman supporting a mentally disabled child, a man that has just been released from prison, and a child with big dreams to be an actor. And as a college-bound senior, HONY further excites me to meet new, intriguing people.
A new favorite is @thiswildidea, which is an account run by Theron Humphrey, the recent recipient of National Geographic’s Traveler of the Year Award. This account focuses on a beautiful dog named Maddie and the travel destinations of the pair. In addition to taking fun, yet artistically composed pictures of Maddie, Humphrey also advocates a site called whywerescue.com, which features pet owners and their adopted animals. I don’t know about you, but a picture of a dog in a child-sized pedal car will always make me smile.
And yes, the countless food posts of cupcakes and pizza on Instagram that I drool over always make me feel guilty. However, my favorite solution is to turn to a health guru’s pictures and (sometimes) be inspired to exercise and eat healthy. @myhealthydish_ is the account of well-known health and fitness Instagrammer My Nguyen, who has almost 800,000 followers. After scrolling through her pictures, eating healthier does seem easier with her simple recipes and photos of delicious snacks. The best part is that Nguyen does not forget to remind her followers that she’s human too. She gives in to Nutella and late-night snack cravings, which is perfectly fine, but also makes sure to get back on track with healthy eating.
Now, don’t be mistaken. These are not my only favorite Instagrammers. I often find myself whipping out my phone to show people a video of cute bunnies, named Rambo and Eddie, eating kale from @bunnymama and I cannot help but be envious of the fashion sense of Wendy Nguyen from @wendyslookbook. Although Instagram is widely acclaimed as a hipster social networking app that destroys pictures with filters, if you look hard enough, you can find some truly inspiring
