Why I Love the “Until Tomorrow” Challenge

Taking ourselves less seriously is one of the best things we can do right now. This is evidenced by the day I got my braces on (don’t you love how the alternating pink wires perfectly complement my Hollister V-neck?)

The healing power of humor is palpable. It’s something that can alleviate our negative emotions and make us smile even when everything else looks bleak. Sometimes, it’s a way to cope with unfortunate events. From this apocalyptic era we’re currently in, a new and hilariously embarrassing social media trend has emerged: it’s ominously named “until tomorrow.”

This all started when I opened my Instagram feed a few nights ago. Somebody posted an embarrassing childhood picture of themselves. The caption said nothing but “until tomorrow.” Weird, I thought, but maybe this is an inside joke between them and their close friends. As I scrolled down I noticed the trend continuing. People who didn’t even know each other were posting less-than-flattering pictures of themselves, all of which were captioned with “until tomorrow.” A few minutes later, I got this DM from a member of my sorority.

“So… you liked my post so you have to post an embarrassing picture of yourself, for the caption you’re ONLY allowed to write ‘until tomorrow’ and you can only tag me.”

Ahh, that’s why so many people were posting their hilariously embarrassing moments! I took this challenge in stride. I dug through the myriad of childhood photos of myself on my mom’s Facebook page. Boy, did I hit the mother lode (ha, get it?) I was not the cutest kid, and I definitely wasn’t the cutest adolescent. Middle school was a particularly rough time in my looks department. Exhibit A: I remember my mom and Nana each curling one side of my hair. I wanted to look impeccable for my first middle school dance at my new school. All I have to say is wow.

I loved seeing my friends comment back, laughing at my Vera Bradley wristlet and my excessively voluminous hair, which my friend lovingly deemed “sausage curls.” I also took great joy in commenting on my friends’ pictures, belly laughing at the fashion and music trends back in the early 2010s.

This is what I love about humor. In this anxiety-filled time, one thing we need as a society is to take each other less seriously sometimes and let loose. Everyone’s “until tomorrow” posts were an amazing distraction from the dire straits the world is currently in. Additionally, we live in an era where social media is a filtered version of reality. People tend to post only the most flattering pictures of themselves, down to the angles, filters and (in some cases) photoshop. This trend is the antithesis of the obnoxiously perfect, seemingly flawless social media landscape. Everyone was able to laugh at themselves and poke fun of others, highlighting that what we once thought was an amazing outfit and pose is something we’d all cringe at years down the road. It’s refreshing to see people not holding themselves to the same unrealistically high social media standards as usual. I, for one, am a big fan of “until tomorrow” and hope humorous and self-aware trends like this last far into the future.