From Meme To Teenage Dream

Back in March of 2011 the first of the major viral sensations broke. This was in my junior year of high school, I walked into my first class of the day, English class. It was unusual for my teacher to have the projector out as we usually spent most of our time working through our books and in discussions. The video on the projector wasn’t anything to do with class, it was Rebecca Black’s Friday.

Now this wasn’t the first time I’d seen the video. I saw it the night before on the front page of reddit. At the time I first saw it I didn’t expect it to be more than one of the never ending cycle of funny videos you’d see on reddit, but the moment I walked into class the and saw this I knew this was different. I figured maybe my English teacher played it just as a funny thing to wake us up and get us ready for the day, but it turns out every teacher I had that day did the same. An hour-and-a-half later in my second period, class started off the exact same way, and an hour-and-a-half the same thing.

The way my schedule was setup in high school was that after my first three class I would commute to the University of Kentucky to take my differential equations class. I assumed that once I left high school that day I wouldn’t see Friday again, but sure enough I walk into my differential equations class, slightly late, and am witnessing my professor play Friday. I just chuckled to myself and then told my professor that it was the fourth time I’ve seen the video today. The viral nature of Friday was real. Over the next few weeks the talk of the video would be how many dislikes the video could receive. There were parodies of the video, redubbings, and general buzz. The downside was the swarth of hateful comments that continued to spew and eventually led to the video’s removal.

For most of us this was the end of Rebecca Black. She was just the girl with that silly song that we could laugh at and make fun of. Once this viral sensation, or meme as you will, died our concern for Rebecca Black was gone. Since Friday, we’ve learned that Rebecca Black dropped out of high school after mass amounts of bullying. Not something anyone would wish upon the girl. We’ve also learned that she is resilient. She’s started her own YouTube channel, which now has 1.3 million subscribers, she’s reuploaded Friday and is making content for he fans to follow.

I also realized, Rebecca Black is an inspiration. Friday could have been embarrassing enough to discourage even some of the strongest of us to continue our passion, but Rebecca Black embraced her passion, she could only go up from there. Today I was remembering the viral sensation and wanted to see what Rebecca Black is up to today. So I ventured over to her YouTube channel. I found that two months ago she has released a new song. I didn’t really know what to expect, maybe something like one of the songs released after Friday, songs that weren’t as bad, but still not good. Boy was I wrong. This new song, The Great Divide (I highly recommend a listen immediately) just goes to show that if you work at your passion, you can achieve your dreams.

Rebecca Black has transformed from a somewhat whiney tweener voice, to one that rivals some professional artists. Her voice sounds like a mix of Selena Gomez and Katy Perry, and her vocal range is exceptional. What seemed to be a girl whose career could be described in one flash in the pan viral video has completely shifted to one of our potential pop stars. A girl that could have been destroyed by bullying and embarrassment has blossomed into a strong young adult following her dreams.

This past week has been quite an introspective one for me; analyzing where we’ve been, analyzing where we’re going. I’ve questioned every single choice I’ve made in my own life and where I am going. I’ve questioned my aspirations. I’ve almost felt lost. Today, I feel different, looking at Rebecca Black’s metamorphosis over the past five years has inspired me. I realize that anything is attainable as long as I can put my heart in it and work as much as possible at it.

So to Miss Rebecca Black, Thank You.