By Silvana Smith
Karen Chee, for those who may not know, is best known for being a comedy writer on the Emmy-nominated staff of Late Night with Seth Meyers and her occasional appearances on the show as the token millennial trying to guess Gen X and boomer cultural references. Although I have been a fan of her work for a while, it wasn’t until I started following her on Twitter this year that I truly understood her value as my favorite Twitter coping mechanism. As a lifeboat of heart and humor in the depths of Twitter doom scrolling, there have been many times this year when I’ve come across a tweet of hers and chuckled softly to myself before hitting like and moving on—‘cause sometimes that tiny boost of serotonin is all you need to keep your head above the water. In a media space full of hot takes and Russian bots, it was nice to find tweets that either made me feel extremely understood or that genuinely brightened my day while wading through the seas of the unending tragedy that was 2020.
Having gone through her own set of hard times this year, her writing is informed by her knowledge of how important humor is when going through darkness. Life isn’t divisible into neat boxes of bad times and good times. As she described in her Vulture interview, they often happen simultaneously: “the most surreal and the most human thing—feeling the extremes of terror and joy at once.” Which is definitely how I would describe moments from this past year. However dark the Twitterverse has gotten in 2020, it’s been nice to have the @karenchee account balance some of it out with some wholesome humor.
Below is a curated compilation of some of my favorite, relatable, hysterical, heartwarming, and repostable tweets from Karen that helped me get through this pandemic. Hopefully they can give you some joy too:)
For those still trying to schedule in the apocalypse during your 9-5:
For those who’ve ordered takeout one too many times this week:
For when your daily walk around the neighborhood isn’t doing it for you anymore:
Because blood circulation isn’t that important anyways:
Bangs and masks = COVID essentials:
That one time we bonded from afar over our love of the band Fun.:
Me after scrolling through Twitter for an hour instead of sleeping:
Me trying to understand TikTok trends:
For anyone figuring out working from home after moving back in with your parents:
I just hope to live long enough to one day be starting an email post-pandemic:
I would be totally fine with not going back to shaking hands post- pandemic:
For when the hot takes aren’t that hot:
For marveling at the beauty of nature whilst simultaneously destroying it:
For when “sorry I was out late last night” is no longer an excuse:
Same:
For anyone else whose love language is touch and is ~suffering~:
Tbt to the secretly cake part of the pandemic:
When you can’t use body language to convey how non-threatening you’re trying to be:
I only have two nemeses, but I’m currently taking applications:
My political affiliation:
The last good thing to have happened in 2020:
When cute little stories about Karen’s family are just what you need for a pick me up:
When the existentialism hits:
What’s worse: the wrath of God or the wrath of Twitter trolls?:
Schitt’s Creek; one of the only bright spots of 2020:
When your physical body rejects the new normal:
The only chance of true solace left in the world:
When the people you spend the most time with is the cast of whatever show you’re rewatching for the 11th time:
2020: no more boob jail:
One of the better occupational hazards 2020 has to offer:
He’s also been on hiatus forever; problematic fav:
At this rate of global warming, we may never wear cold weather sweaters ever again:
January 2021 has been a whole month of Sunday scaries:
Either way, I'm gonna want to leave early:
Lol tbt to the idea that quarantine would end:
9 months later, still applicable:
Being a potato > being a vegetable:
Currently on my 3rd quarantine breakdown, excited to see what next time has in store for me:
My role model:
All I have left to give after nearly a year of COVID
All tweets belong to Karen Chee (@karenchee)
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