One of the MANY reasons that I love Instagram as a medium is that the app allows you to tell a story with an image. Yeah, yeah, “a picture is worth 1,000 words” is inevitably running through your head right now, but let me explain.

The running joke is that the only thing Instagram is good for is showing other people what you’re about to eat. This isn’t incorrect (in fact, if we’re talking about my Instagram feed, that’s pretty much all I use my account for…you’ve been warned.) HOWEVER: if I look at the Instagram feeds I follow, I see more than just food: I see aspirations. Whether it be a blogger with a specific lifestyle, a brand with a specifically curated reputation, or a user that specializes in what I like to call “Travel Porn” (beautiful photos of a particular place), each account projects a very curated face to the world. Here are some of my all-time favorites for inspiration, but let me know if you have any you can’t live without in the comments below: I’m always looking for some new inspiration!

NatGeo

A GREAT example of Travel Porn, with some awesome wildlife thrown it. If this account doesn’t give you wanderlust, I don’t know what will.

WarbyParker

A fantastically curated feed that of course centers around eyewear, but somehow manages to make it about a lifestyle. Still trying to figure out how they manage that one.

London

A must for every Anglophile. This account will have you sipping Earl Grey and talking like Lady Mary Crawley in no time flat.

Nerdist

For the geek in all of us. Chris Hardwick is unabashedly nerdy, and doesn’t care who knows it.

_f7

Tokyo-based app designer Yoshito Hasaka takes stunningly gorgeous architecture photos that make you feel like you’re living in the Matrix.

tsa

Surprisingly fascinating. They mostly post photos of things they’ve confiscated in security lines throughout the country (really, who though bringing a KNIFE through security would be OK? Also, I’m shocked by the number of people who “forgot” that their gun was in the carryon…really?) along with a liberal sprinkling of the pups who work drug and bomb detection in airports.Bonus: they offer travel tips (did you know a TSA agent will assist you in folding up a stroller if you don’t have any free hands?  Now you do.)

valentinehello

A great example of a well-curated account from a style-blogger; she has frenchness (is that a word?) oozing out of every pore, and exudes effortless Parisian chic.