Better Your Feed: Feeling Nice Edition

 
 

I’m finding that most online content out there right now falls into one of two categories: “everything you need to know about the terrifying current apocalypse” (subcategories include: news, statistics, ten million different and completely contradictory ways to interpret those statistics, how to be productive during your quarantine, why you shouldn’t be productive during your quarantine, why you shouldn’t feel bad about being productive or not being productive during your quarantine, why you shouldn’t feel bad about not feeling bad about being productive or not being productive during your quarantine, etc.) or “how to completely avoid and repress all of your feelings about the terrifying current apocalypse” (subcategories include…everything else that normally makes my eyes glaze over on the internet). 

I don’t really want to completely submerge myself in coronavirus content or work overtime to pretend it’s not happening. I just would like to…feel nice? 

So, I thought I would collect a roundup of the things on my Instagram feed right now that are making me feel nice! Some of that is pandemic content, like self-care, comics, and community resources; some of it is non-pandemic content, like fashion, animals, and photos of stuff that looks pretty. Here are my recs for bettering your feed and helping you feel nice in between hand washings!

@whatswrongwithmollymargaret

Molly-Margaret is a poet with a delightful instagram presence  — follow her for quarantine tips on being kind to yourself, aspirational glimpses into her life with her girlfriend, templates for texting your feelings, and more.

🖤💚do this every night💚🖤

2,119 Likes, 3 Comments - Molly-Margaret (@whatswrongwithmollymargaret) on Instagram: "🖤💚do this every night💚🖤"

@toiletfeelings

Humyara Mahbub is an illustrator whose sweet and funny comics tackle everything from mental health to art to birth control to friendship, and other meditations on being a human.

Have to make my STUPID little comics because I'm going INSANE!!!!!!!! Haha!!!!

200 Likes, 5 Comments - humyara (@toiletfeelings) on Instagram: "Have to make my STUPID little comics because I'm going INSANE!!!!!!!! Haha!!!!"

@shopberriez

Berriez is an Instagram-based vintage shop specializing in plus-sized pieces in bright colors and amazing patterns. Watch their stories to see if anything catches your fancy and treat yourself or a friend while supporting a small business during this time of economic craziness — or just let the delightful prints serve as your quarantine fashion inspo to brighten your days.

!!! Berriez founder Emma Zack talked to @fashioncanada about what she's wearing, observing, + admiring right now ~ thank you thank you @odessapaloma for the fun feature 🥰🍓

185 Likes, 27 Comments - BERRIEZ (@shopberriez) on Instagram: "!!! Berriez founder Emma Zack talked to @fashioncanada about what she's wearing, observing, +..."

@inagarten

Let the queen Barefoot Contessa herself provide you with some visual comfort food, from her apartment to yours. Right now, she’s posting a lot of simple recipes that you can make with stuff you probably already have, or use as a starting point for as you plan your next (responsibly executed, socially distanced) grocery outing or delivery.

Ina Garten on Instagram: "It's always cocktail hour in a crisis! Recipe link in profile. #staysafe"

283.3k Likes, 36.4k Comments - Ina Garten (@inagarten) on Instagram: "It's always cocktail hour in a crisis! Recipe link in profile. #staysafe"

@pennyshortlegs

The name says it all. This dachshund named Penny has very short legs and loves to show them off on Insta. For those of us without a pet to cuddle with right now, Penny’s the next best thing. 

Thank you to all our hard working NHS, we love you! Penny & Family 👏🏻❤️ #clapforourcarers #clapfornhs #thankyounhs

3,002 Likes, 31 Comments - Penny (@pennyshortlegs) on Instagram: "Thank you to all our hard working NHS, we love you! Penny & Family 👏🏻❤️ #clapforourcarers..."

@tealeigh

Tea Leigh is a machine-free tattoo artist and astrologer who often combines the two in their dreamy chart-reading-inspired tattoos. They also post a lot of great community resources and create spaces for conversations surrounding topics like queerness, grief, chronic illness, Indigenous rights, and more.

@diane_keaton

If you’re not already following Diane Keaton on Instagram, scroll through her archive and get ready for the ride of your life. That’s all I have to say about this one.

ITS A BLACK AND WHITE KIND OF WEEK!!! #instyle #ralphlauren

Diane Keaton shared a photo on Instagram: "ITS A BLACK AND WHITE KIND OF WEEK!!! #instyle #ralphlauren" * See 489 photos and videos on their profile.

@lighthoneylight

Let yourself be soothed by this account dedicated to beautiful light and shadow patterns, both inside and out. Maybe you’ll feel inspired to explore the far reaches of your apartment, discover an appreciation you didn’t know you had, and submit your own!

"Waking up early actually has some perks." Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. Fr: @allthingschey #light #knoxville #tennessee #USA

19 Likes, 0 Comments - Light, Honey. Light. (@lighthoneylight) on Instagram: ""Waking up early actually has some perks." Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. Fr: @allthingschey #light..."

@jooleeloren

Illustrator Julie Houts hosts has been posting these lovely thought exercise comics on her Insta throughout the pandemic, and I can’t wait for more.

Truly apologize from the bottom of my black heart for this earnest content 🙃 for when you lose all sense of time, space, place, body.... etc. 🖐🤏👇👈

11.6k Likes, 283 Comments - @jooleeloren on Instagram: "Truly apologize from the bottom of my black heart for this earnest content 🙃 for when you lose all..."

@corpusritual

Herbalist and breathwork practitioner Jennifer Patterson offers healing and wisdom from a trauma-informed, queer-and-trans-centered perspective. I’ve taken a breathwork workshop with Jennifer that was truly transformative in the most literal sense of the word, and ever since then I can’t get enough of her Insta presence either.

like many of us atm, a lot has been heavy on my mind & fuller body. there's a deeper, ominous rumbling. a coming to terms (yet again) with the times we are in. these times being a clear indication of how unsustainable the way we live is. how deeply out of balance this way of living is making us. BIPOC people, queer & trans people, sick & disabled people, survivors, trans & not trans women have known for forever because we have so frequently been in the cracks feeling the deeper rumble. . those of us who grew up in unsafe homes, experience violence on the daily bc of our identities, feel our bodies turning on themselves... we've known how not ok, how deeply harmful things have been & are. those of us for whom being alive has felt tenuous, those of us who find ourselves in the margins & trying to seek healing & care. how inaccessible so much has felt for so long for so many reasons. sure, don't feed the fear but also let's not bypass reality. . i guess what i'm trying to say is that part of my work in this lifetime is to go with the shadow, the heavy. to dig down to the roots & uncover what's there both feeding & festering. to see, name, call out abuse of power in all the ways & spaces it shows up in. i used to think that the radical people, they had it figured out. they refused to stand for violence in our world. i don't believe that anyone... it's permeated every community. for those of us who have always been able to spot the violence, the collapse, these times can feel particularly acute cause we knew what was coming. many of us have been yelling for a long time about what was both already happening & is also on its way. . i'm definitely feeing some fear & trying to manage it by continuing to be in connection with people in my life, taking the herbs to continue to support my immune, nervous, & digestive systems. i'm staying with the pain & fear instead of running, denying, dismissing. if you're doing that too, gratitude from me to you. for those of us who have always known that deep rumbling fear & lack of safety in our families, environments, culture... i see you. thank you for speaking up for so long- even when people turn away. i'm with you in it.

372 Likes, 28 Comments - Jennifer Patterson (@corpusritual) on Instagram: "like many of us atm, a lot has been heavy on my mind & fuller body. there's a deeper, ominous..."

@movementresearch

NYC-based dance and movement exploration center Movement Research is now offering FREE online versions of their usually in-person (and usually not-free) classes while everyone is stuck at home, and highlighting programming on their Insta. Designed for self-identified dancers and “non-dancers” alike, classes like Feldenkrais® and The Sounding Body might encourage you to discover something new about your body and/or your mind.

@clotheslinespoetry

Hey guys! Remember outside? Pretend you’re there with this sweet submission-based account featuring the most photogenic clotheslines you’ve ever seen. 

@happyhensandhighlands

Here, have some sweet highland (aka fluffy and cute AF) cows and their babies for your feed. Need I say more???

*update named him Jericho* Emmaline had a baby boy ❤️ needs a J name

5,923 Likes, 174 Comments - Happy Hens & Highlands (@happyhensandhighlands) on Instagram: "*update named him Jericho* Emmaline had a baby boy ❤️ needs a J name"

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Lily Shell is a grad student in Interdisciplinary Theatre Studies at The University of Wisconsin-Madison. When she’s not on her porch swing there, she’s in NYC or Vermont, or online yelling into the void about TV and/or Harry Styles – take a look on Twitter or Instagram.

Caroline Reedy is a Brooklyn based digital artist, who has been mixing comedy with pastel colors since 2016. Her work is mainly inspired by pop art portraiture, mental health advocacy, and internet culture. She has had her work featured on Overheard New York/LA, Link NYC, and Hello Tittie. Check out her work on her instagram@doot_doodles.

 
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