Remember the early days of Instagram?

When things were sequential, shoddily manicured, way less voluptuous and people posted things like sprinklers that look like pies and mustard spills on their shoes?

I took a scroll back to my first IG photos and had a few thoughts…

• None these got any likes, but I didn’t care.
• Did I think X-Pro II really looked more professional?
• Is a blurry photo actually more artistic, or am I already my photo-taking parents?
• Is everything better optimized?

…but the most basic thought I pondered was: “Why the F did I post that?”

Here’s my first Instagram post ever. I thought it was artsy.

This was at Lollapalooza shortly shortly after Shark Week. I thought it was funny.

Not even the Goddesses of the ‘Gram were immune.

 

What a delightful place Instagram was. Food. Art. Fun. Laughs. Friends.

I asked friends of mine, all who happen to work in social media-related jobs, about their favorite early Instagram posts and why they posted them. Here are their answers. It’s basically a curated rabbit hole of blurry, bordered, unliked delight to save your thumbs from scrolling. Enjoy this simpler time.

Chu Batsaihan

‘Leezys before Leezys were Leezys’ 12/1/12: Had the pleasure of being in college when Instagram first came out; this photo was taken a few months before graduation. I thought perhaps I’d leave the Bud Light Life in Carbondale but little did I know, it was just the beginning.

“Snow in December?!”  12/18/11: Apparently, I couldn’t believe it when I saw a half an inch of snow in December! Crazy right?

‘Old Town Road’ 12/30/11: I dated a girl who grew up having to travel this long dirt/gravel road in Southern Illinois. During heavy storms, she and her siblings would have to kayak to their bus stop due to flooding. Real country people don’t ride horses, they ride kayaks (’til they can’t no more).

‘Avion’ 1/21/12: Turtle not only sold the idea of Avion to Mark Cuban but he also sold the idea to me and my friends in college. NOW That’s What I Call Product Placement Volume 27; Bro Edition.

‘Platinum’ 2/3/12: You thought I was only going to mention Bud Light once? After it’s a legendary introduction during Super Bowl XLVI, I rushed to the nearest Kroger’s and spent (probably half of my bank account) on this balanced meal. Lean and Light baby.

‘Space Jam’ 5/20/13: A “what I’m watching on TV” Instagram post is rare nowadays, usually that’s something that barely makes the cut on Instagram Stories but even by today’s standards, Space Jam on network TV is opportunistic as they get.

‘Rocks’ 5/3/13: Nuff said, the start of a dynasty. Wish Alexis didn’t ruin the pic. 9 likes, but at least justjac_queline thinks it looks fun.

Burke Hair

There was a phase in my life where I’d frequent a bar in Chicago called Friar Tuck and see how many Rolling Rocks my friends and I could drink in a night, stacking them on our table as we went. We actively guarded the table from anyone trying to clean up our empty bottles. It all came to an end when a table full of cashed out Rocks met a misplaced elbow and they stopped letting us keep our empties. Anyway, this is a photo of that.

I remember wanting to tag The Rock in this photo of Rocks. Not sure why I didn’t.

Fun editor’s note: The Hefe filter was named because IG’s founder was drinking a Hefeweizen when working on early filters.

I think a vendor at work (or maybe my company?) gave us (or maybe just me?) a reusable plastic cup that looked like a red Solo cup. It had some inspiring (or maybe vendor-specific?) phrase on the side and I thought it was hilarious to scratch it off to reveal this dispiriting message. It got one “like.” I still kind of think it’s funny.

Kirsten Hair

My first Instagram ever…I bought a car. Great copy…straight to the point.

No copy, no likes, no regrets. Took this selfie sitting in the previously mentioned new car.

NYE 2012. Felt real cute before going out in Wrigley. Headbands were real hot then..I swear. 1 like…depressing.

Allison Berler

Instagram was the place for food pics, and I was hungry a lot I guess, haha. Mmmm. Yummm?!

Noura Collins

I just moved to Chicago and had to share a classic Instagram filter over my deep dish pizza for my fans… (note I got 1 like).

Old coca cola bottles always bring back nostalgia for so many people. I went to the Randolph street market and I actually hate antiques so found the one things that wasn’t old and rusted to share a pic.

A very sad Pinterest fail for the #BigGame… Kitchen Curious would be so disappointed.

This is so embarrassing it looks like my mom took the photo and posted it to my Instagram account… I hated that long ass walk through the United terminal and this picture makes it look like I was on drugs… Like what was I thinking…

This is for Powell. A trip down memory lane and I came across that. Death by Cake Vodka…

Ashley Fowler

I just thought these all were artsy.

Ahhh, now that’s a #TBT. At least we still have chronological sunsets.

This beautifully blurry time will live on in our memory, and for some, on their birth certificate.

A report published by the Baby Center in 2015 said that Instagram-inspired names like Juno, Reyes, Valencia and Willow are all on the rise. The name Ludwig, for instance, is up 42 percent on the website’s list of boy names. Juno, meanwhile, is 30 percent more popular for girls.

What a world.

I can’t wait to see what it looks like on Valencia’s Instagram.