Instagram is my internet

These days, Instagram is my internet. This feels strange to say as someone who spent many a teenage evening playing a game I called “follow the links,” but it’s true. Instagram is the best of blogs, Instagram is what Tumblr used to be, Instagram is what Flickr used to be, Instagram is more captivating than Twitter. I love following people on Instagram and seeing their work scroll by as well as getting a window into their lives through Stories. These are some of the people I love following the most:

Katie Zhu | @ktzhu

day 47 of #100daysofandnotor: “i want a place of ease AND i have ambition.” —— recently i was talking with a group of very talented asian american indie creatives about money, sustainability and confidence. i was (ha who am i kidding AM) stressed about balancing of my two big goals: financial independence and creative independence. @wolfchirp wildly advised: “meet yourself where you are without judgment or enabling... accepting that finding a place of ease is not the same as a lack of ambition.” —— i want to support myself, save for the future, save for retirement. i also want to be creatively fulfilled in my work. right now it feels like these paths are at odds, but not everything is so discrete and separate. —— 47/100

A post shared by katie zhu (@ktzhu) on Jun 25, 2018 at 10:11pm PDT

I’ve written about Katie’s artwork before, but I still have more to say! She’s a designy engineer turned product manager turned artist and podcaster, and a real-life friend of mine. Her colorful, real-talk perspective on life is always bracing and refreshing. I’m always hyped when I see a new entry in her #100daysofandnotor series show up, but I also get pretty hyped when she posts Stories of her dog, Dirk.

Jenna Wortham | @jennydeluxe

“I am going to write fire until it comes out of my ears, my eyes, my noseholes -- everywhere. Until it's every breath I breathe. I'm going to go out like a fucking meteor.” — feeling this Audre Lorde at the Tin House Summer Writing Workshop 📷 by @keondra

A post shared by 〰️ Jenna Wortham 〰️ (@jennydeluxe) on Jul 10, 2018 at 8:11pm PDT

Jenna writes for the New York Times Magazine and co-hosts one of my favorite podcasts, Still Processing. She also shares indelible slices of life on Instagram, most recently from the Tin House Summer Writing Workshop. I feel lucky to know Jenna, but Instagram lets me know her in a completely different way: as the heart and mind behind the click-click of Polaroid moments shared on purpose but unfiltered.

Tuesday Bassen | @tuesdaybassen

It’s my birthday and I’m feeling sappy: It is such a joy to know all of you. I LOVE designing clothes that are my dream clothes aesthetically and also my dream clothes in how they fit both myself and others. I’m clearly INTO our clothes (just look at all these pictures of me) and I’m so touched that you are too. Our goal with opening a shop was to create a safe and beautiful space, especially for our customers that might have trouble finding their sizes elsewhere. The wonderful side effect has been meeting more of you face to face and now I know this for a fact: We truly have the best customers and friends in the world. My therapist says like attracts like and I’d like to take it as a personal compliment that you’re all so wonderful. The older I get, the less interested I am in being hard or cool or pissy and I’m more interested in connecting deeply with people and sharing with people who give back love too. 🥂 So here it is: Cheers to our badass loving community. Cheers to the women that make this line happen. Cheers to our factory that I love. I hope to make you proud by making dope clothes and I promise to try to push myself harder against the status quo of this industry. 💘 29 is gonna be a wild ride.

A post shared by Tuesday Bassen (@tuesdaybassen) on Jul 12, 2018 at 1:32pm PDT

Tuesday Bassen is a blast to follow. I started following her around when my friends Duretti, Rachel and I made a pilgrimage to her old store in LA, Friend Mart. (She‘s got a new one now.) Tuesday designs size-inclusive clothing in an ethical, playful way, and I get such a kick out of watching her business unfold. I now own not one but TWO satin jackets by Tuesday, each purchase prompted by a tantalizing Instagram post.

Ashluka Lukashevsky | @ashlukadraws

Queer eye is like chicken soup for the progressive soul and I am so thankful for it. Yaaas to season 3! @queereye

A post shared by ashley lukashevsky (@ashlukadraws) on Jul 13, 2018 at 3:59pm PDT

Illustrators are some of my favorite people to follow on Instagram because bright images give me a place to pause in my feed. They’re the art I get to drink in along the way. I love Ashluka’s style, and I love her mission, too: “Illustrating to dismantle patriarchal nonsense + systemic racism.” It’s nice to get a jolt of that in every day.

#bernedoodle

A post shared by Luis Lara (@lulu41585) on Jul 13, 2018 at 3:00pm PDT

Not a person, but: did you know you can follow hashtags on Instagram?! My hashtag of choice is #bernedoodle—it is so fun to have cute dogs peppered throughout my feed. Highly recommended.