@crh_affirmations has adapted the Internet’s latest absurd trend for the Choate community.
@crh_affirmations’ popularity has skyrocketed since its first post on November 25, which reads, “I will not check ChoateSIS every five minutes for my term grades,” over a sparkling photo of campus. Choate’s latest anonymous Instagram jokester derives their humor from the cheekily ironic to the downright absurd, from various events such as unstable Wi-Fi, Veg-Out Monday, and even the recent rise in Covid-19 cases. With over 400 followers to boot, the account’s eerily upbeat posts have found their way into students’ conversations both online and offline.
Originally used to describe a spiritual method of self-endorsement, the term “affirmation” has snuck its way into Gen-Z’s ever-expanding Internet-inspired lexicon. These simple mantras are intended to be repeated to oneself in order to stop worrying about such mundane things as Thursday lunch lines or one’s yearbook photo. Although @crh_affirmation’s maxims are far more sardonic than serious, the account “makes us feel like more of a community,” said Kenadi Waymire ’22, a fan of the account. In fact, the account’s Instagram bio claims that it is a “Mental Health Service.”
To Taylor Rossiter ’25, @crh_affirmations is the funniest and most relatable Instagram account on campus. She said, “The post about [fall-term] grades was the most relatable post the affirmations account has.” Cait Ahn ’25 agreed that it is one of Choate’s “coolest accounts with enjoyable content. It doesn’t beat @ChoateAthletics, but out of the unofficial student-run pages, it’s among the top three on campus.”
Because students are not technically allowed to maintain social media accounts bearing the School’s name, the student behind @crh_affirmations has concealed their identity, including for this interview. “I am the admin of an Instagram page called CRH Affirmations. Why students at a school called Choate like my posts so much is beyond me,” they said. Waymire has her own theories, though: “I think it’s a junior. It’s a lot of fun.”
A couple of witty affirmations that have appeared on @crh_affirmations include, “I won’t blame it on freshmen” and “I am undefinable,” a play on Choate’s new marketing slogan. A particularly uncanny affirmation reads “The Choate Plague will NOT return on Hol Ball weekend.” The words, placed above an unexplained photo of the actor Timothée Chalamet, were posted five days before the administration officially postponed the annual dance.
In fact, several of the account’s posts have come to fruition in the opposite direction. For example, an affirmation reading “Choate Wi-Fi is stable and consistent across campus” premiered on November 30. The next day, Dean of Students Mr. Mike Velez ’00 emailed all students about the Wi-Fi issues on campus.
The account creator, who spoke mostly in cryptic non sequiturs, said, “My posts age like the milk cartons in my dorm room — the ones that I take one sip of and then forget to throw away.”
Rossiter said, “@crh_affirmations is full of mischief.” Ahn thinks of the account as a way to laugh about Choate students’ communal experiences and highlight the absurdities of boarding-school life.
Finally, @crh_affirmations would like to leave readers of The Choate News with one more affirmation: “I will follow @crh_affirmations.”
