by isabellaposchmann’19
A few months ago, an Instagram account was created by Kaitlyn Boles, Ceci Riccio, and Laura Fuentes: @films.to.inspire, which at the time, was devoid of posts, the only photo a bright yellow sunflower as their profile picture. No one really knew what to expect from the account, which has the line “be kind to one another :)” as their bio. However, four months after their last post, the account is thriving, having accumulated 554 views on their most popular video, and having gained over 350 followers. So what is this account, and why is it so popular among BHS students?
@films.to.inspire serves to promote kindness and positivity not only throughout the school, but also on social media. The account consistently creates, produces, and posts videos that are guaranteed to make anyone smile. While all of them are equally heartwarming, some of the videos follow a specific format and some of them are completely random. Some of the latter include “45 Seconds of Random Dancing to Brighten Your Day” and “We Complimented People on the Good We See In Them”; but the most popular format involves either Kaitlyn, Ceci, or Laura asking those in the video a question. They have ranged from “What makes you happy?” to “What do you like most about yourself?” to “What does love feel like?” to “What’s your dream?”. Being asked these questions makes people pause, think, smile to themselves or even laugh a little. And not only do these questions spark joy in those asked them, but those watching also experience the same feeling; it’s impossible to keep the smile off your face.
So how do they come up with the questions to these videos? They answered, “We have a combined note that we add questions frequently through the day. We also think about what we want to know about other people because that is likely what others would find interesting. We think that the deeper the question the more you can learn about people.” The viewers undoubtedly enjoy the questions being posed, and the videos only grow in popularity.
Maybe part of the reason that this account is so popular is because no one’s ever really done anything like it before. When asked “How did you guys come up with the idea?” @films.to.inspire answered, “It was a pretty random idea that we were all excited about that developed into our films.to.inspire page. We didn’t expect the reaction we got- everyone was really supportive and into it! We felt inspired by people’s response which made the who thing thrive. Seeing the schools reaction to our videos made us want to continue!”
As word of these films spread, so did positivity around the school. Students grew excited to be part of the videos that spark so much joy, and the comments on the account are nothing but encouragement and love. Kindness and positivity was definitely promoted as a result of this account- but how did @films.to.inspire seek to achieve that?
“We wanted to show there is an important layer to life that we don’t talk about at school,” they said. “We wanted to show that everyone had a unique perspective that should be valued and heard. We hope that people are inspired by our videos to take the time to pause their busy lives and spread kindness and think about others.”
Senior Sarah Lapinsky, who was featured in the film “What’s the Best Quality of Another Person?” can attest to the effect it’s had around BHS. “I think the videos are amazing and add a bit of brightness to everyone’s days,” she comments. “They’ve also positively impacted our school by causing people to talk to one another about deep ideas.”
If you haven’t already, I encourage you to check out @films.to.inspire if you’re having a bad day, need to smile, or just are curious; the hard work put into the videos is evident by the reaction they’ve sparked!
