Lauren Loveless | editor in chief
Day thirty-something of quarantine and the severity of the pandemic is really sinking in. There’s no escape and everything seems gloomy, however, in these dark times there’s still some very amusing light.
“Personally, I think [memes] are helping me. It’s soothing to know that other people are going through the same things as me all over the world. It makes me feel less alone in this whole mess,” junior Ashlyn Swain said.
That’s right ladies and gentlemen, memes are the answer to our modern day issues, after so many years of adults telling us they’re useless and crude! And although it may seem offensive to make light of such a heavy situation, that is in no way the case.
“If anything, I would say the memes are helping people take the virus more seriously, and it also helps to bring it to the attention of people who may not know about it,” senior David Kent said. “It helps to bring more awareness to this serious issue and also, I feel like it’s just generally acting as a coping mechanism for people during this tragic time.”
There are memes aplenty floating around, from quarantine memes to Animal Crossing, which has become one of the most popular games to play during this pandemic.
“I’ve seen a lot of memes floating around, mostly on Reddit cause that’s where the best memes are at,” Kent said. “One particular meme that caught my eye was one that was talking about how our generation was going to make history. And the meme goes on to talk about how we all hoped that it would be “SPACE TRAVEL” and then reality… it turns out we are living through and making history. By living through a literal pandemic.”
Are the memes dumb? Maybe, but they’ve been a big help for a lot of teens and hopefully adults, to ease some of the tension surrounding the Coronavirus. Personally, I just can’t wait till historians are forced to use our memes as reference for how we handled the pandemic.
So, without further adieu, here is my personal stash of quarantine memes–the best and the worst.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
the animals when they cross idk i didnt play it pic.twitter.com/YsCs2HVCwY
— rice 🌱 (@rice_deity) March 13, 2020
I don’t have a Nintendo Switch, I don’t have Animal Crossing, but still, I love the memes so much. There’s just something so soothing about them, something that’s consoling about this cute little game that keeps me from losing my sanity and succumbing to my anxieties about the pandemic. Even if I don’t have the game, I still appreciate the content it produces and understand that it plays an important role during this situation.
Celebrities Complaining about Quarantine
I know that we’re all supposed to be in this together, but watching celebrities complain while they’re in their million dollar houses is too much. I can’t get over the articles that report about how some celebrities have gone crazy, or have had a “mental breakdown” because of social isolation. It really just makes you want to play the tiniest violin in the world.
We did it Boys, Senior Year is No More
One week into April, FaceTiming my friends after our senior year gets cancelled. #Classof2020 pic.twitter.com/x6CM0SF4Gc
— wyatt (@wyatt_the_giant) April 6, 2020
Am I devastated that senior year is kind of ruined? Not necessarily. However, I am very disappointed and quite frankly I find this meme very rude, but very truthful. Because we don’t get anything special; no prom, probably no graduation, no senior sunset, and it just sucks. We’ve worked throughout our high school career, so every senior deserves to feel special during their year of graduation, and while this might be some brand of special, it isn’t enjoyable in the slightest.
School is Moved Online, but at What Cost
Online school is pretty groovy, but it’s really messing up our habits and sanity. Sure, the memes are funny, but they’re accurate and that’s the bad part. I have not gotten a proper amount of sleep in weeks, and neither have my friends, and don’t even get me started on my lack of motivation to do school work.
Virtual Graduation
For starters, I never really wanted to attend graduation in the first place–it’s long, mind-numbing, and takes probably ten seconds to walk across the stage. However, the prospect of an online graduation via Zoom? That’s just laughable. So laughable that in some cases it’s better to present it as some sick joke, rather than the twisted reality. However, if I was being honest, I’d much rather attend a virtual graduation still, then have to attend one in real life.
