Sophomores motivate others through comical Instagram account
April 22, 2016
Snap. A photo is taken, and Quick Pics, a motivational Instagram account created by students for students, is born. Although the page made by sophomores Daniel Loaney and Andrew Eickmann was originally meant to be a parody account, they may actually be motivating others. Students scrolling their feed can certainly fit in a laugh or two, which can be a great pick-me-up.
“We started being friends last basketball season,” Loaney said. “We had a team dinner and he was just cracking me up. I’ve just liked being around him after that.”
In January, the two started the account as they were hanging out, waiting for their basketball game later that day.
“We were walking to his house and he wanted me to take a picture of him by this sign that said ‘dead end’,” Loaney said. “I was thinking it was kind of dumb, but I just took the picture and said some motivational quote. Then we thought, ‘This is kinda funny. We should keep doing this’.”
The boys try their best to post unique content on the account, as opposed to typical motivational quotes. They aim for diversity, and sometimes, things that are just plain weird.
‘“Boats don’t sink because of the water around them,” the boys captioned. “They sink from the water that gets in them. Don’t let troubles around you get to you and weigh you down.”’
Although students may look at the same quotes, they all perceive them in different ways.
“It’s important to remember that things around you shouldn’t bring you down, and to realize that those things are not always going to be a problem,” sophomore Emma MacNeil said of the quote that she read.
Loaney and Eickmann initially intended the account to be something funny that would gain them more followers. However, they never expected to learn something about themselves along the way.
“On a serious note, I really like helping others and being there for people who are struggling. I could see myself going in the direction of a school counselor. I just like being with people and helping out as much as I can,” Loaney said.
The two created the account wanting to do something different and out-of-the-ordinary, using the most common medium of the twenty-first century—social media.
“We wanted to make people laugh,” Eickmann said. “One piece of advice I would want to share with others would be to live life, and just have fun with it.”
After being asked what they would say to the haters, they both replied with the same quote:
“Throw me to the wolves, and I’ll come back as their leader.”
The boys have 229 followers and counting. One of those followers is freshman Bridget Noonan.
“I think that most of their quotes send a similar message: Don’t let obstacles get in your way or stop you from achieving your goals,” Noonan said. “Always rise above it, and set an example for others to always be the bigger person.”