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‘All of our stories are messy, imperfect — and beautiful’

Grad student Lynda Gerty is Concordia's March Instagram curator
March 6, 2018
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By A. Saunders



Lynda Gerty
was born in Montreal but moved to Vancouver when she was 10 years old. Often, she dreamed of returning to her hometown.

When Gerty learned of Concordia’s Human Systems Intervention Program, in the Faculty of Arts and Science, she felt like she could fulfill two dreams at once. She could study something she’s interested in and passionate about while living in the world’s best city for students.

“Even though — or maybe because? — the flowers are coming up on the West Coast, and we’re still blanketed in snow, there’s nowhere I’d rather be right now,” she says.

Gerty is this month’s Concordia Instagram curator. Inaugurated in the spring of 2016, the Instagram curation program invites a member of the community to share their vision of the university.

You can follow Gerty’s journey via the #CUseenby hashtag.


‘I’m practicing perspective-taking’


What do you hope to do with the Concordia Instagram account?

As a student of human systems, I spend a lot of time reflecting on the relationship between individual learning, group dynamics and social change.

Lately I’ve been practicing perspective-taking: trying to suspend my own unconscious assumptions and see things from an alternative point of view.

I hope I can share some of what I’m observing, questioning, and learning as I roam around campus and across the city.

What are three or four of your favourite Instagram accounts?

  • @adriennemareebrown: Social justice facilitator, singer, speaker, doula and author of the recent inspiring radical planet/self-help book, Emergent Strategy.
  • @lufafarms: Colourful images of delicious and healthy food, grown all year round in rooftop greenhouses, by an innovative and sustainable Montreal business.
  • @nikkilaes: Environmental educator, Indigenous media maker and wilderness guide, who I’m lucky to have worked with and learned from at the David Suzuki Foundation.
  • @kristina_boardman: Vancouver Island artist, whose incredibly realistic paintings of rocks (yes, rocks) remind me of the raw beauty of the west coast.
  • @rupikaur_: Canadian poet, writer and illustrator whose short poems about love, loss and revolution reverberate within me for weeks after reading them.
     

What tips do you have for Concordia students who are looking to make their Instagram accounts better, or just take great photos?

I’m a relative newbie, having joined Instagram just over a year ago. That said, I think the key to creativity (and possibly life!) is to slow down, follow your intuition, and enjoy the process.

All of our stories are messy and imperfect – and also, achingly beautiful. Share yours.
 

Interested in becoming a Concordia Instagram curator? Pick the Instagram photo on your feed that best represents your life at Concordia, then send it by direct message from the Instagram app or email a link to: socialmedia@concordia.ca. And let us know why you’d like to participate!

 



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