Failing Falcon

The Failing Falcon

Student Insta account finds audience with humor

Written by Rachel Studer & Kaleigh Heffernan

Failing Falcon. The name can be heard in the cafeteria, in the halls, and in classrooms. Many know or have heard about this account, but who really is the Failing Falcon? No, it’s not a student struggling with academics. Failing Falcon (‘23) is an Instagram page, aiming to put smiles on student’s faces one meme at a time. “I created the ‘Failing Falcon’ account over

Thanksgiving break last year which was when there were a lot of school-related Instagram accounts popping up around that time,” the creator said. “I figured that I might as well take advantage of the popularity of school-related pages so I decided to make the account a meme page.” The page soon started to gain traction after its creation, gaining followers from the other ‘NFHS’ pages. Currently, the account has over 600 followers. “My plan at the time was to slowly amass a large following and then sell merchandise to my audience- which has yet to be a reality,” the creator said. “However, the main reason that I created this account was to put a smile on people’s faces and help develop positive school culture. I consider myself to have a great sense of humor, so I wanted to pass the laughs onto my peers.” It isn’t always smooth sailing for the Failing Falcon, who at times receives criticism for posts. Some criticism comes from other ‘NFHS’ accounts. 6

Back in December, the ‘nafo.sleepers’ Instagram page commented on one of the Failing Falcon’s posts using insults and profanities. They then continue the mocking on their Instagram story because Failing Falcon had deleted their profanity-laced comments. “I thought that the whole ordeal was humorous, but I also questioned the morality of our student body,” Failing Falcon said. Besides appealing to the admin-

“At the end of the istration, they also have to worry about approval from their followday, I continue to keep ers. “The hardest part about runthis page up to make ning the “Failing Falcon” account everyone’s day just a is trying to create a meme that will appeal to a large majority of bit better” the student body while also being entertaining and retainable,” the creator said. Failing Falcon also has to consider another factor in the situation: when does a joke cross the line? Some posts, such as the Ukrainian flag post and the tier list of the school hallways post, have brought forth criticism from portions of the student body. Though some posts may cause push-back from a few vocal individuals, the creator of Failing Falcon feels like it’s in the account’s best interest to leave all of the posts up. “I know that there is a limit but I know that I haven’t crossed it,” Failing Falcon said, “nor do I plan on crossing it in the future.” Failing Falcon often sacrifices time to bring these

Instagram bio on the Failing Falcon’s page.

memes to NFHS, finding it hard to manage the account when ideas run out and no one sends any in.

“I want to make people laugh and ease the stress of those who just need a break from schoolwork. At the end of the day, we’re in high school and most of the things we think are important to us right now won’t matter in the future,” the creator said.

Though the Failing Falcon is already a junior, the student plans to keep posting until graduation.

“At the end of the day, I continue to keep this page up to make everyone’s day just a bit better,” Failing Falcon explains. “Some days it can be hard to get the creative juices flowing and others I question why I do it in the first place. When I realize that keeping the page up means I will always make at least one person laugh or smile every day, keeping this page up is totally worth it.”