I Picked One *Definitive* Meme For Each Month Of 2023 And I'm Curious If You Agree

HBO Entertainment / Via HBO

My For You page and mental wellbeing had one person to thank in January 2023: Jennifer Coolidge. This woman simply existing is irresistibly memeable, so kicking off the year with her essence in meme form means (memes?) a lot to me.

@michcoll / Via Twitter: @michcoll

I had such a genuine moment of sheer appreciation for the English language when the words, “yassified her to maintain anonymity” first graced my eyeballs. None of these words are in the Bible. This meme took over my timeline, changed my vocabulary, and had me fully convinced that blurring faces for anonymity is soo out and yassifying is *in*. 

Rich Polk / Variety via Getty Images

OKAAYYY! I’m honored to present the March meme of the month to this delightfully random picture of Jamie Lee Curtis jumping on an invisible pogo stick during the Oscars. If there’s one thing I know to be true since the days of Activia commercials and finger wagging arguments, it’s that Jamie Lee Curtis can effortlessly spawn a viral meme.

Alano Design / Getty Images/iStockphoto

So…I was scrolling through my Twitter likes to make this post and found that 99% of them were this specific meme of people adding text bubbles to a random tweet about *ahem* “hating that green bitch.” I’m not gonna lie to you. I have no idea which green bitch OP was referring to, but Twitter got reaaal crafty in guessing who the culprit might be, and I was here for it. They also made me realize how much beef fictional creatures seem to have with green bitches?!

Mike Coppola / Getty Images

May brought us the Met Gala, and celebrities were arriving in such luxurious abundance that the event had me refreshing my Twitter feed obsessively until I saw (and judged) every outfit. With the Met comes the memes, and while I expected to see Jason Derulo falling down the stairs as I do every year, I saw a lot more of this Met-themed meme that features imaginary and iconic attendees instead. Tag yourself, I’m the Starbucks lemon loaf.

@Terror_Alarm / Via Twitter: @Terror_Alarm

It feels like there are no rules on gay Twitter, especially during Pride Month. June had everyone giggling to themselves and editing this random “more than two genders” tweet to highlight silly and relatable experiences. It’s always nice to see people being lighthearted instead of spouting hateful rhetoric/their yeehaw views regarding gender identity, so the responses primarily being in good fun was a refreshingly silly time to be doom scrollin’. I had fun. This was fun. I don’t want to think about how this meme would be interpreted by Facebook, and I won’t!

Warner Bros. Pictures

I don’t want to remember the world pre-Barbie movie. Those were dark days and darker nights. This masterpiece of a movie inspired sooo many memes, from the mojo dojo casa house to “Do you guys ever think about dying?” — but there was one in particular that stood out the most. The algorithm roasted me ferociously by constantly showing me this meme of Barbie fully sobbing. Honestly, it wasn’t wrong for that. In July, I took lots of time between laying in bed and crying (girlhood <3) to giggle at these memes.

@SelenaGomez / Via Twitter: @PopBase

I am, as a rule, always keeping an eye out for Selener. This picture of her looking snug as a bug in a rug while peacefully staring off into the abyss is exactly the kind of vibe I am going for. I woke up every single day of August and tried to encapsulate this specific energy the best I could. It’s my life’s dream to achieve the level of pure peace and bliss that she radiates in this extremely memed picture. 

Fulton County Sheriff’s Office via Getty Images

It was an unapologetically chaotic day on Twitter when the former president/host of The Apprentice had his mugshot taken. My timeline was flooded with memes from the moment this picture dropped in late August alllll the way through the end of September. I feel like this reaction picture has the goods to really stand the test of time. 

Cbs Photo Archive / Getty Images

I would like to imagine that somewhere, hundreds of years ago, a prophet peered into their crystal ball to predict what 2023 would bring, and what they saw was an image of Kevin James, star of television’s King of Queens, shrugging bashfully. I know I’m not the only one who feels strangely comforted by this image. 

@FoxCollegeFootball / Via Twitter: @CFBONFOX

Do I care about sports? No! Was I emotionally invested in this opossum’s desire to be a part of the team? Yes, I really, really was. This cute ‘lil trash goblin ran onto the field only to be forcibly removed. Let him play!!! Get a rabies shot and LET! HIM! PLAY! My dude was screaming, clawing, and feral…but honestly? I feel him. I feel that way every single day. Relatable king. Luckily, he wasn’t maimed in the process — but he sure was memed. 

Win Mcnamee / Getty Images

The unhinged realm of the internet where I scroll daily followed the George Santos saga with such an intensity that I was in total shock when I heard it was coming to an end. I really thought this man would give us an endless supply of messiness. After it was announced that he was expelled from Congress, the internet went absolutely wild with meme after meme commemorating his chaotic time in office. One phrase stuck out in particular which perfectly punctuated his entire journey: DIVA DOWN!!!

HBO / @michcoll / Rich Polk / Variety / Mike Coppola / Warner Bros. Pictures / @selenagomez / Fulton County Sheriff’s Office / Cbs Photo Archive / @foxcollege football / Win Mcnamee