If, like me, you’ve found yourself in a constant state of “go-go-go” since the first day of classes, March’s debut comes faster than expected. 

Whether you’ve just started finding roots in Florence, or you’re wrapping up your last moments in our beautiful town, there’s a number of experiences that shaped our generation. And for those of us quickly nearing graduation, now is as good a time as ever to take a moment to reflect on those memories that brought us here. 

Where better to reflect than to the year that brought us Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe?” The year that delivered us the steam of Author E.L. James’ “Fifty Shades of Grey” film adaptation. It was the year of Jennifer Lawrence’s breakthrough role in “The Hunger Games,” and the birth of the pop culture love triangle between Liam Hemsworth, Josh Hutchinson, and Jennifer Lawrence. The year also released K-Pop sensation Psy’s “Gangnam Style,” which quickly dominated top charts across the globe. 

That’s right, we’re flashing it back to the golden year of 2012. Before we jump in, let’s take a moment of silence for those of us that haven’t yet come to terms with 2012 being a decade ago. Yes, you read that right– 2012 was ten years ago. If you don’t feel old yet, just wait until you realize that the iPhone 5 was the hottest product on the market that year.

Picture this: the Twilight franchise has released its final movie and the Vampire fandom has never been hotter. The battle between Team Edward vs Team Jacob rages on. Speaking of popular hunks: Channing Tatum is in every movie available in theatres: “The Vow,” “21 Jump Street,” and “Magic Mike.” Every girl in Middle and High School is sporting Nail Art inspired by each upcoming Holiday. All the boys sport their long, swishy hair (a style popularly coined “the flow”).

Beyoncé and Jay-Z have recently blessed the world with their first child, Blue Ivy, sparking an obsession over the inspiration for her unique name. Lindsay Lohan bounces across headlines for arrests, car accidents, and drunken adventures. The concept of a home button and separate headphone port is the standard for smartphones. 

The only care in the world is whether or not Rihanna is going to take back Chris Brown or finally be with Drake. The only drama is finding out that Dan Humphrey is Gossip Girl.

Honey Boo-Boo takes the reality tv world by storm as America unlocks a new favorite past-time: paying low-income families to make fools of themselves on national television.

Mitt Romney and Obama battle for the presidential election, and Hurricane Sandy devastates eight countries across the Atlantic. 

The year of 2012 brought us the box office sensation “The Avengers,” ushering in a new era of SuperHero fandom. The addition to the Marvel Universe released a snowball effect that would  strike a financial goldmine that still resonates a decade later. Not only did the year of 2012 unleash the superhero tidal wave that would shape today’s entertainment industry, but it also brought us “Vine.” 

The Vine app quickly became the most downloaded video-sharing app on the market after Twitter purchased the company from its original creators for a whopping $30 billion. The platform was so popular, in fact, that a collection of users today still mourn its demise over 6 years later.

2012 has been dubbed the “Resurgence of Boy Bands” by TeenVogue as One Direction and The Wanted hit stateside, captivating the hearts of fans for their adorably British accents and devastatingly handsome style. 

Gabby Douglas, Aly Raisman, Kyla Ross, Jordan Wieber, and McKayla Maroney dominated the 2012 Olympics and became known as the “Fierce Five.” Maroney also made waves in the year as her “unimpressed face” became one of the most popular memes of the year. 

While the year brought us a number of our favorite laughs, songs, and movies, it also holds our cringiest memories. 

The texting app “Kik” was a must-have social media platform that sparked a generation of cringe-worthy online flirting. Chuck Norris was the staple meme of the year along with the concept of “Forever Alone.” 

YouTube was plastered with adaptations of the “Harlem Shake” and the “Mannequin Challenge,” where the only cinematic goal was to achieve as much chaos as possible during a 30 second clip. America also had an inexplicable obsession with Bacon during the year 2012. Not only did printed clothes and accessories sport images of bacon, but popular brands adapted the trending meat product into lip balm, soap, and even toothpaste. 

As we mourn the passing of the years that brought us here,  we can still appreciate the cringe that we leave behind with it. Now there’s nothing left to do but to go forth and make new memories that we can all appreciate in another ten years.