By Clarissa Wemple, Third Year Psychology
My relationship with Instagram is pretty tumultuous. Some days, I have so much pride in what I have posted and can’t wait for my friends to see them. Other days, I feel as if I’ve exposed too much of my life and were trapped in a superficial, materialistic world where everybody only paints the most perfect picture of their lives. (No, I don’t believe you “just woke up like this” if your hair seems to be perfectly curled and if I can see that little bit of eyeliner on you…)
I knew that this account was going to have a special place in my heart.
Instagram was starting to get pretty bleak until I found the Instagram account @humansofny. I was fascinated. The account functioned fairly simply, really. It was just filled (mostly) with pictures of various individuals from New York. What really struck me about it though, was how none of the material on the account seemed to be pretentious or ‘edited’ in any way. From the raw photos taken, to the intensely real stories that people had to share, I knew that this account was going to have a special place in my heart. It had changed my impression of Instagram forever. Maybe this little platform that is notoriously known for being the breeding grounds for self-obsession, actually had potential to do good.
Coincidentally, college was looking for a team to run and start up the college blog when I first got to know of @humansofny. I’ve always seen and known John’s to be a small, friendly, tight-knit community. Even friends from other college seemed to agree. Since we were so much of a community, what easier way to get to know others on a daily basis (of course, besides talking to them), than replicating @humansofny, creating a John’s college version?
I had one main objective out of starting this account – to showcase the diversity that’s within John’s.
That’s when I decided that if I wanted to help tell stories about the college, starting something similar would be perfect. From then on, Humans of John’s was born and in the works!
I had one main objective out of starting this account – to showcase the diversity that’s within John’s. Sometimes, we forget the people who make John’s what it is – every single person in John’s. From college staff, to undergraduates, Cranmer Hall and the MCR, and even the many interest groups, there were just so many stories that I wanted to help share.
Since summer this year, we’ve featured 10 spectacular individuals and their wonderful stories. This Instagram page is only going to get bigger and better, and I can’t wait to see what this evolves into months (or even years!) down the road.
We post a new story every Monday and are always looking for more of you to feature
We post a new story every Monday and are always looking for more of you to feature. So, if you’d like to share a story (it doesn’t have to be about your time in University or John’s, by the way) feel free to drop any of us a message, or fill up the google form through the link here: http://bit.ly/humansofjohns
I am excited to be able to continue featuring more stories and to help build our community beyond what it already is.
If you haven’t already followed the page, you can find it here: instagram.com/humansofjohns
John's Chronicle 