Memes, memes everywhere
So, it’s that time of year again. You know what I’m talking about. The time when your hair starts falling out, caffeine intake increases tenfold, sleep patterns go out the window and every second not spent looking over an assignment or at revision notes is another second you’re thinking about how futile life is and that all things turn to dust- Ah. Sorry, that got a bit heavy-handed towards the end there. All I’m saying is, all students tend to share the same feeling of dread around this season, and rightly so. The end of the semester is in sight and the only thing standing between you and the sweet release of the summer are a bunch of deadlines and exams.
I myself had quite a few deadlines and a presentation to combat, but thankfully only one exam. It’s strange, in my undergrad it typical to finish around the start of June or really late in May which was a bummer because all my friends at other unis were wrapping up their semesters by the end of April or the start of May. Therefore, it came as a pleasant surprise to see my last thing was on the 4th May, but I also realised this meant that everything was coming at me very quickly.
As you can tell, I survived (I think… unless I’m writing this from the afterlife, which I suppose is entirely possible), but I know there are still students who don’t finish until mid-June, so I’m dedicating this post to you guys out there.
There are a few ways you can help yourself get into the right mindset of revising properly. Eating properly, getting enough sleep, all the usual stuff. True, Facebook, YouTube and every other app are difficult distractions, but you can spin them around and use them for good, just like you can with memes. You just need to exercise some discipline with yourself. Taking regular breaks is always advised, and what better way to spend those five or ten minute breathing times than looking at said memes? If you don’t know what a meme is (and no, it’s not pronounced may-may) then you probably haven’t been using the internet for very long (if at all).
The term meme has been around for a little while, coined by Richard Dawkins in The Selfish Gene (1976) as a way to describe the spread of cultural information, however, the concept of internet memes- a subset of this, applied to the culture of the internet, has only been around for the last two decades and a half or so. The neat thing about internet memes is how they propagate through social media, allowing their usage to be tracked and analysed.
This is probably getting too complicated now. The point is, memes are a part of everyday internet life now and while some of them are hit or miss (mostly miss) at best (I’m looking at you Catch Me Outside, Ugandan Knuckles and Tide Pods), there are a few hidden gems among the trending ones out there.
Why did the Catch Me Outside, How ‘Bout Dat Girl ever become a meme? The internet baffles me. The Tide Pod challenge was just insanely dangerous. It’s actually caused deaths and hospitalised more than a few people… proof that memes can be deadly.
In the spirit of memes and on the topic of exams and assignments…
The weather is amazing now, but you have the whole summer to enjoy it ;)
This one is dedicated to all the students who I saw pull all-nighters trying to cut down their word counts. It’s tough and I feel your pain.
And finally, if you happen to be in the fortunate position of having finished the semester, but have friends who are still working their socks off... go give them a hug. They deserve it.
