May I just say, Instagram is freaking hard. I’ve never deleted it, and at times I really should have, and I just wanted to first say that if you feel like you need to just take a break from it as a whole, please do! I made this list because I feel like we’ve all had that time where we just need a good reminder. Here’s a pretty darn positive Instagram feed that I hope makes you smile.
- So Many Outfit Accounts
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This is a nerdy fashion thing, and I know it’s a catered preference, but whatever your little passion is that makes you giddy just to think about, follow it. Personally, some accounts that I love are @seasonsofella (she does a lot of Disney-inspired outfits), @alexasunshine83 (Lots of positivity and thrift flipping on her channel. She’s also a YouTuber that I’ve become obsessed with), @BestDressed (again, YouTuber that I’m obsessed with that preaches sustainability) and @angelsfits (this was one of the first fashion accounts I followed, and they’re heavily based with 90s-inspired pieces).
I love putting together outfits and statement pieces, so when I see someone putting together an outfit I love, it makes me excited for a day in the near future that I could make up my own “look.” Inspiration is all around us, and if you’re focusing on it, all the more ideas will come! Also, little PSA, one of the more unhealthy aspects of Instagram is comparison, so please follow only fashion accounts that make you feel good! This was one of my unhealthy tendencies for the longest time, and it took me forever before I realized that I was trying to visualize myself exactly like these fashion accounts that just weren’t like me. Everyone’s body grows, develops and reacts differently to all kinds of things, so please go follow only the accounts that make you inspired, but also still healthy and happy.
- Your Friends!!
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Sounds super obvious, but if I’m ever feeling homesick or like I need just a solid hug, search your friend’s accounts! Odds are you’ll find a photo and cute caption that brings back a cute little memory of you with them. I have my little friend group from high school and every once and I while (a lot of the time), I miss the heck out of them! And then tell them– it’s such a human thing to miss someone purely because of their natural qualities, so share the love.
- Just So Many Dogs
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Dogs just solve all problems, don’t they? If I’m having a bad day, a good dog is a guaranteed save. I’m also a personal fan of weiner dogs, and I feel like a lot of other people are too, so please enjoy all these lovely accounts of (mostly) dachshunds. First things first, @Dachshund.inc is by far one of my favorites, purely because it’s essentially all wiener dogs, then there’s @weratedogs, and they are by far one of the most well-known dog accounts, because they literally rate the dogs that pet owners send in (spoiler alert: they always are higher than 10), then, of course, there’s @sallytheminidachshund, and yes this is another wiener dog, but you have to understand that she’s not just any wiener dog, she’s a wiener dog that is cared for by her older owner, and the two combined is just too much love for my dog-loving heart to handle.
- Positivity at Its Finest
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Okay, so I follow a lot of quote accounts, and I’ve got to say, it really helps. I can’t fully explain it without sounding terribly cheesy, but it just reassures your mind in this really comforting way. It makes you breathe and read about all these things that you know deep down you deserve but haven’t fully taken the time to give yourself.
Some of my personal favorites have been @positivityposy, whose messages are quite long, but very much worth the read. Then @werenotreallystrangers is also one that I feel like really strangely calms me! It’s never as simple as giving you tips to calm down, but rather just explaining the world in ways that you may have not thought about before! Last but certainly not least is @nowthisisher, and it’s an account focused on the women that are changing the way the world has been taught to us through inspirational everyday people doing heroic acts. No matter what your “happy place” is, I truly hope you find it, especially in a place that can be fairly unhappy at times.
- Movie Recommendations Better Than Netflix
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So my major is literally film, so this one probably isn’t that shocking, but everyone loves a good movie, right? Not even like a film, just a nice movie that you can watch and eat food with! Anyway, I follow a lot of movie accounts because I’m a sucker for a good movie scene. And there are a lot, to say the least, but one that I will forever follow is @netflixtweetss. They currently have about 3.5 thousand posts, and while a vast majority of them are actual scenes, they also include a lot of movie facts you may have not known, and my film heart fell in love. They’re also great for when you’re looking for a good movie to curl up with because I purposely have a folder in my saved section on Instagram titled, ‘Movies to See.’ Overall, it’s a great thing to follow if you’re either a massive movie fan or just a completely indecisive person, and I am both, so I personally love it.
- Some Good Things in the World
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I feel like all I write about these days is just good things in the world, but I truly feel like it can change a bad mentality, so here’s yet another segment of me talking excessively about the good things in life. Okay, so there’s an account called @thedailyst_goodnews, and they are the pure inspiration for this section! I always read those ‘28 Ways People Made Me Feel Like the World Isn’t a Pile of Garbage’ posts, and this is like that, but there are so many more! And I feel like it’s just such a good thing to see and read (and cry over) when you’re having a good day because it really does remind you that there are people in the world just doing good things for the purpose of just doing them.
Overall, I feel like Instagram is such a toxic thing when you’ve been watching it and analyzing it too much. In general, too much of a bad thing, especially too much social media, is a terrible thing. However, rather than stating the unlikely cure (i.e. “just get off of social media”), make it something you can control and be happy with. There’s such a stigma behind social media and the standards that we as human beings hold ourselves to, and I think it’s absolutely ridiculous that we often feel like we can’t change, because we can and, quite honestly, I feel like we’re supposed to!