Written by Abby Chadwick. Photo courtesy of Charlotte Beck.
Perhaps you decided to read this article because you are plagued by the same question as me: “Where did the @SCADfirmations Instagram account go?” From September 9 to October 31, our Instagram feeds were graced with the brightly colored, sparkly memes reassuring you that yes, everyone else at SCAD is as much of a mess as you are. The account provided a sense of comfort for everyone struggling through fall quarter. The @SCADfirmations creator also coined the term “big bosses” for their followers, a name that instilled a sense of community and understanding in such a confusing time. But, at the start of week 8, with finals just around the corner and stress levels at an all-time high, @SCADfirmations vanished when the big bosses of the world needed them the most.
I’ve compiled a list of theories, some plausible, others a little bit more out there, but all with the common goal of uncovering the truth as to where @SCADfirmations disappeared to and whether they are okay.
In the first theory, we’ll cover the most plausible of reasons. As previously mentioned, stress levels were at an all-time high around week 8 of fall quarter. Stress of classes, upcoming finals, planning to go home for winter break and running a successful Instagram account is definitely a lot for one person to handle. The disappearance of @SCADfirmations could easily be chalked up to the issue of time management and stress, and frankly, we can’t blame them.
The second theory is a bit more optimistic. All of @SCADfirmations’ posts describe a certain universal struggle that almost any art school student could relate to, and all of these posts are disguised in a sarcastically-positive tone. For example, the account’s most popular post reads, “the metal stools will NOT give me back problems.” Using this information, one could assume that one possible reason for @SCADfirmations’ disappearance is that they simply did not have any more struggles to post about. Perhaps, by the start of week 8, the creator of the account was able to completely navigate life at SCAD and find themselves free of any struggles or inconveniences. And, quite honestly, if this is the case, good for them! I’m sure a lot of us probably couldn’t quite relate to this scenario, but hey, if one of us big bosses can figure out life at art school without any problems, maybe there’s hope for the rest of us.
However, if this isn’t the case, I do have one more theory I want to explore, and this one requires a bit of math. Let’s start out with our timeline. The @SCADfirmations page launched in 2021, 43 years after SCAD was founded (keep that 43 in mind). As of this moment, the page currently has 27 posts. If we add together that 27 and our previous 43, we are left with an even 70. From there, we must take into account the 40 academic programs listed on SCAD’s official website. Add that 40 to our 70, and we are left with 110. SCAD also has two main campuses: Savannah and Atlanta. If we subtract two from our 110, we are left with 108. That’s right, 108. Now, why is this number significant? Well, Paula Wallace’s name has exactly 12 letters in it. If we divide 108 by that 12, we are left with 9. This is where it all starts to come together. Which beloved SCAD icon has nine letters in its title? You guessed it: ART. THE. BEE. If you do a bit of digging on the @SCADfirmations’ Instagram page, you may come across a post that reads “Art the Bee is NOT plotting to kill me.” As much as we all hope this post is true, the math may just prove something different. We are all left to wonder, then, is Art the Bee responsible for the disappearance of @SCADfirmations?
So, to the big bosses of the world, keep your minds, hearts and eyes open, because we will get to the bottom of this. And to the creator of @SCADfirmations, if you’re out there, we thank you for the comfort you have brought to us all, and we hope that one day, your sparkly-filtered light will shine again.
Abby Chadwick is District’s Chief Social Media Strategist and an interior design major at SCAD. She has been involved with District since her freshman year, with this year being her third as an editor. Apart from her role at District, Abby can be seen around SCAD walking to and from Clark Hall and enjoying the Savannah coffee scene. (Her go to is an espresso tonic, if you were wondering!)
