Because I am perpetually stuck five years in the past, I only recently found out about popular TikToker Delaney Rowe. She’s a content creator known for parodying everyday personality quirks, like people who claim they’re always cold or the girl who is convinced you’re absolutely obsessed with her makes pancakes. I was fascinated by her talent, but more so by my reaction to her talent. It didn’t make sense.
I loved her videos.
I also hated them.
While internally screaming and externally laughing, I suddenly got it. It was me. Delaney had seen me. These videos showed personalities or tropes I’ve admired being fabulously, ruthlessly roasted in ways that were completely low-stakes but also hilarious. I could barely handle the emotional whiplash, but that didn’t stop me from watching 400 more before realizing it was two hours past my bedtime.
I felt the same way watching this TikTok from @karencassssss of a teacher standing in the hallway on the first day of school. While crunching on almonds, she shouts random questions and observations, sometimes to specific people, other times lobbed into the ether.
It was like Delaney all over again.
I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the screen.
I gasped at how her spot-on pitch and intonation made me instantly homesick for a school building.
When I heard the chuckle that followed her comment to Sam and Sidney, I wanted to cringe down into the core of the Earth.
With a strange combination of physical pain and unfettered joy, I saw a lot of myself.
Watch her here:
Well? Who did you see? Was it you? Someone on your team or in your school? Maybe a teacher you had?
Regardless of who you saw or how you feel about them, one thing is clear: Everyone watching this video knew exactly who this teacher was in their lives.
The comment section was largely celebratory and nostalgic.
Some brought up the even split of what kind of teacher this persona was to them:
Yes. Always.
😭
Spoiler alert: Brett won’t cut his mullet either.
I’ll tell you why. Because almonds are the overlapping part of the triple Venn diagram between “inhaleable between classes,” “shelf stable,” and “helps release stress and rage via aggressive crunching.”
We’re so glad @karencassssss is in the world, roasting all of us flawlessly and without our permission. We may not love seeing ourselves in this video, but we can always use an opportunity to take ourselves a little less seriously.
Go off, Karen—you’re bringing joy to the people.
