At dinner the other night, my roommates and I started talking about phrases we considered to be very "college." "I know, right?" was at the top of the list, being used (by me) at that very moment to endorse itself as queen of collegiate discourse.
"I actually started saying it as a joke," one of us admitted.
We all cocked our heads with the strain of trying to remember life before college and gasped in sudden awareness — it was true. This phrase, used in our circles like a daily affirmation, had actually been born onto each of our tongues as a mockery, ruthlessly caricaturing a type of girl none of us had ever actually met when we started using it, but had seen in "Clueless" (1995) and on "Recess" (1997−2001) (remember the Ashleys?) The tides had certainly turned — I was fairly sure I had utilized an emphatic "I know, right?" earlier in the day while talking to a professor about the pros and cons of psychoanalytic theory in modern Western society. As we sat around the table in silence, cataloguing the times we had "I know right?"−ed with serious intentions and wondering when exactly we forgot what we were making fun of, the realization slowly dawned on all of us: The joke had won.
I might as well have been living in the final scene of a heist film as I sat there stunned and mildly impressed at having been taken for a fool by an abstract concept. Like Frankenstein's monster, my creation had taken on a life of its own and totally salted my game. The joke and I were 1−0. Or were we?
I started thinking back on the events of the past few years. I saw visions of ugly sweaters going from $3.95 at Goodwill to $39.50 at Urban Outfitters. I saw me joking about how hilarious it would be for some poor fool to run around a house party banging a wooden spoon on a saucepan with underwear on her head, and then my best friend and I doing just that several hours and several margaritas later. I saw reality TV. I saw blogs. I saw Crocs. Turns out, the joke wins all the time.
Ever shopped at American Apparel? The joke won. Do you use the word "obvi?" The joke won. Ever worn fake Ray−Bans? Ever paid for real ones? That's two for the joke. Heard of Paris Hilton? Watch "Jersey Shore?" Oh my God, the joke so won.
This whole campus is full of the joke's victories. My friend has a shirt that says, "I'm not feet for society." She got it in Argentina, and it is definitely not meant to be a pun. Everyone seems to have forgotten that "legit" isn't the whole word. Thick−framed glasses and plaid Air Force Ones are no longer worn ironically — they now parade around as pragmatic and genuinely attractive accessories. My professor used the words "natch" and "totes" in an e−mail to the class. Enough said. We are all running around with "kick me" signs on our backs, courtesy of the joke itself.
The thing is, being the joke's fool feels good. Even after this realization, I don't want to stop using "abbrevs" or doing shots to Miley Cyrus. I don't want the wannabe hipster boys in my classes to start washing their hair or get some less−tight pants. I don't want to have to stop texting people "lolsky." I like the little nuggets of tongue−in−cheek−turned−sincere that have worked their way into my life and slowly took over. So joke, I surrender. I lay my dignity at your feet, because I will never take the Romanian techno song off of my iPod. You win.
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Jessie Borkan is a senior majoring in psychology. She can be reached at Jessie.Borkan@tufts.edu.
