From The Weeknd to Bernie Sanders, Here Are The Best Memes That Got Us Through 2021

Ah, while we still remember cheering for the arrival of 2021 after the sharknado-esque year that was 2020, let’s just say this year wasn’t always all that we hoped it would be. Much like the “how it started vs. how it’s going” meme that reminded everyone of super-excited Kevin dropping his pot of chili in “The Office,” 2021’s COVID-19 variants like Delta and Omicron didn’t exactly let us spread our wings like we wanted. That being said, we’re praying to la Virgencita María for lots of rumbas y parrandas in 2022, and we have to admit even 2021 wasn’t all bad. 

This year brought us “Bridgerton” (hello Duke of Hastings), that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Oprah interview that finally outed ingrained racism in the royal family, a 22-year prison sentence for George Floyd murderer Derek Chauvin, and the Great Resignation, made up of workers who are quitting to drive much-needed better conditions and pay. This year saw widespread COVID vaccination, Donald Trump being banned from social media, and that new Adele album to cry to with a bottle of mezcal (extra points for runny mascara and a heartbreak que ya ni te importa). And through it all? Amazing, on-point memes we almost forgot about — and we’re cracking up all over again.

1. Bernie Sanders at the Inauguration 

Bernie Sanders and his nostalgic, so-pure embroidered mittens at this year’s Inauguration brought us life right at the beginning of January — and yes, we still can’t stop laughing at this meme comparison to Tyra Banks from “America’s Next Top Model.” Suddenly, Sanders was being Photoshopped into just about every picture online — and those mittens sold out just about one million times over.

2. Star Wars “for the better, right?”

A meme format to end all formats, this one hails from 2002’s “Star Wars: Episode II – Attack Of The Clones.” Featuring a conversation structure between Padmé and Anakin, Padmé asks a question and looks on with anticipation — but the answer is never what she thinks it will be.

3. The Weeknd at the Superbowl

While many of us were awe-struck by The Weeknd’s epic Superbowl performance, the internet wouldn’t be the internet without some meme-age. Viewers couldn’t resist going all-out, comparing the singer getting all close-and-personal with the camera with FaceTiming your mom, or trying to work a Zoom call.

4. Two Guys on a Bus Cloudy vs. Sunny

We still can’t stop laughing at this meme, which came out later in the year and continues to make us LOL. Doesn’t know any chisme? Heartbreaking. Has chisme? 2022 can bring whatever it wants, we’re prepared with our chismesito and some tequila!

5. Kim Kardashian at the Met Gala

And cue the crying of laughter in 3, 2, 1… Kim Kardashian showed up to this year’s Met Gala in an all-black stretchy ensemble that covered her face and entire body including her hands. Posting a photo on Instagram with the caption, “What’s more American than a T-shirt head to toe?!”, hilarious comments immediately ensued like, “when you haven’t unlocked the character” in a video game. The best jokes came from her photo ops with sister Kendall Jenner, leading to this epic meme that will go down en los libros de la historia.

6. The Suez Canal ship

Back in March, it almost seemed like the whole world would end because of the Suez Canal blockage, with a massive container ship becoming stuck in the waterway for several days. While it created a near-economic crisis, people couldn’t resist meme-ifying the situation, from one epic meme comparing the ship to their “COVID depression and anxiety” and the comparably-tiny machinery trying to lift it to “going on a daily walk.” Hard relate!

7. Oprah Reactions

Who else remembers Meghan and Harry’s bombshell interview with Oprah back in March? You know, the one where Meghan outed the royal family’s deeply-ingrained racism, which even led them to question what color their baby Archie’s skin would be? While Twitter fumed at the bombshell revelations, memes were also made — shocked Oprah is all of us, especially when told really good chisme. 

8. Happy Hispanic Heritage Month

We loved this month, with Latinos all over the world sharing hilarious moments and nostalgic cultural traditions, all in the name of Hispanic Heritage Month. Why did everyone have that tiger blanket growing up? No one knows.

9. #MaskUpUtah

This one still makes us llorar de la risa, bringing back the classic Woman Yelling at a Cat meme, which features a picture of a cat and “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” Taylor Armstrong and Kyle Richards – but mixing in Utah’s “Mask Up Utah” sign that reminded everyone of una frase muy diferente. This meme went viral for good reason, because ese gato is all of us, all the time.