As young adults, we are at an emotional point in our lives, full of new experiences and situations we never imagined ourselves to be in. During these enjoyable, yet difficult times, many of us tend to keep a lot of what we are feeling inside. We assume that no one else is feeling the same rollercoasters of emotions or going through the same hard moments. We do not expect the seemingly random events and unexpected situations we are in to be universal because no one likes to promote that they are struggling with complex and simple ideas and problems. This is where memes come in.
Along with their ability to find and promote humor in the most absurd moments, memes bridge this gap and offer us a sense of hope and realization that we are not alone. The thousand of likes and comments stating, “this is you/me/us” below these photos shows us that our awkward moments, failures, and interests are shared among the rest of our generation.
Source: Instagram
They tackle everything from relationship and crush problems, politics, the love of food, school, and even the mundane moments you thought no one else noticed. My Facebook and Instagram feed displays our versatile generation who can go from caring about how delicious cheese is to what human rights or political issue is relevant today, then back to guy problems all in the span on one scroll. Like the minds of us young adults, memes capture the plethora and variety of feelings and thoughts we have every single day.
Source: Instagram
These captioned photos can offer more convenient and accessible support and re-assurance than a therapy session or your parents telling you that what you are going through “is normal, sweetie.” They teach us about universal feelings and provide us insight to the experiences of others in different schools, communities, and cultures. The situations we deem unshared to be obscure become more normalized through memes and we find ourselves the emotional assurance of thousands of strangers facing the same issues as you.
Source: Instagram
So thank you memes, you beautiful works of art, for showing me that I am not alone, that what I am feeling is valid, and for confirming my faith in my hilarious generation.
Source: Instagram
None of the images used belong to Her Campus or the author.