45+ Times When Life Becomes a Meme

You know how most of the time life is pretty mundane, but every once in a while the fates align and suddenly you find yourself in the middle of a meme?  Here are some examples my friends and I recently brainstormed (which, I realize, explains why so many of these are girly): 

1. Climbing to the top of a hill and suddenly you’re Maria Von Trapp, preparing to burst out into song
2. Wrapping yourself in a shawl or blanket and suddenly you’re Catherine in Wuthering Heights, wandering the moors in search of Heathcliff
3. Resting a laundry basket on your hip and suddenly you’re a peasant woman fetching food back from the market for your family
4. Hitching your long skirt up as you come down the stairs and suddenly you’re a character in a Jane Austen novel making your grand entrance at the ball
5. Walking out into a snowstorm, bundled in layers of coats, and suddenly you’re an indigenous Alaskan off to hunt seals and slay polar bears
6. Wearing red heels and suddenly you’re Dorothy following a yellow brick road through Oz
7. Pulling your hoodie over your head and suddenly you’re a stealthy assassin ready to stalk your unsuspecting human prey
8. Collecting flowers in your garden and suddenly you’re a character from a British pastoral novel, preparing for a visit from the vicar
9. Setting off on a walk, walking stick in hand, and suddenly you’re Frodo off to Rivendell with the one ring safely stowed in your pocket
10. Dipping your bread into your soup and suddenly you’re a peasant grabbing sustenance between long hours of grueling labor
11. Building a fire using twigs and kindling and suddenly you’re a cowboy out on the prairie, ready to warm up some beans and then fall asleep beneath the stars
12. Tying a scarf over your hair and suddenly you’re a 1950s Hollywood starlet off on a trip down the Pacific Coast in your sporty convertible
13. Jogging up a hill or set of stairs and suddenly you’re Rocky Balboa training for the big fight
14. Picking up something fragile and suddenly you’re Indiana Jones finessing a golden idol from a pedestal without triggering the booby traps
15. A freak breeze stirs your skirt and suddenly you’re Marilyn Monroe walking across a subway vent in the Seven Year Itch
16. Playing with glowsticks and suddenly you’re an airport technician, guiding incoming aircraft across dark runways to safe refuge
17. Piloting an RC car or drone and suddenly you’re a member of the NASA team responsible for deploying the latest rover over the perilous surface of Mars
18. Trying to figure out which child committed a specific act of destruction and suddenly you’re a forensic scientist, collecting evidence preparatory to announcing the prime suspect
19. Participating in your favorite sport and suddenly you’re a pro athlete, surrounded by adoring crowds cheering you on
20. Preparing to chop raw meat, cleaver in hand, and suddenly you’re Michael Myers in a Halloween movie, ready to horrifically murder your next victim
21. Snorkling in a shallow area and suddenly you’re Jacques Cousteau, delving into the mysteries of the Mariana Trench
22. Singing along with the car radio and suddenly you’re a professional performer, stunning adoring crowds of fans with your virtuosity and talent
23. Throwing leftovers together in hopes of creating something edible and suddenly you’re a chef creating astonishing new recipes
24. Walking out the ocean surf, water dripping off your suit, and suddenly you’re channeling your inner Bond Girl or Daniel Craig.
25. Casually admiring flocks of birds on a plaza and suddenly you’re Tippi Hedren in a Hitchcock thriller, scanning the area for cover in case they suddenly decide to attack
26. Standing in the rain and suddenly you’re Andy Dufresne in Shawshank Redemption, emerging from the sewer to freedom
27. Rearranging the furniture in your room and suddenly you’re on one of those HGTV reality shows, staging your home for the cameras
28. Throwing together an outfit from leftovers in your closet and suddenly you’re a TikTok influencer, about to debut a new look that’s sure to become a cultural sensation
29. Bouncing around in a bouncy house and suddenly you’re an astronaut propelling yourself across the surface of the moon
30. Successfully navigating a bit of twisty road and suddenly you’re a stunt driver filming a television commercial for a sports car manufacturer
31. Commenting on the quality of the food at a restaurant and suddenly you’re a restaurant critic preparing what you’ll say in the review you’ll be including in tomorrow’s column
32. Taking photos as you hike through a national park and suddenly you’re Ansel Adams, capturing the wonders of nature so that you can share them with the rest of the world
33. Playing catch with your child and suddenly you’re Ray Kinsella having a catch with Shoeless Joe Jackson
34. Jumping your bike over an obstacle in the path and suddenly you’re Evil Knievel jumping a vast and perilous gorge over a roiling river
35. Eating spaghetti, surreptitiously slurping up a bit of dangling pasta, and suddenly you’re in a Disney movie sharing a plate of pasta with Lady or the Tramp
36. Walking outside on a windy autumn evening, listening to the leaves rustle over the pavement, and suddenly you’re listening for the sound of hoofbeats in case the Headless Horseman is preparing to pursue you
37. Removing your shoes as you walk into the house and suddenly you’re in Japan, being invited to enter a temple or tea house
38. On your hands and knees scrubbing schmutz off the floor and suddenly you’re Cinderella being persecuted by evil stepsisters
39. Eating at a diner at night and suddenly you’re in a noir film, waiting for gangsters with tommy guns – or possibly a femme fatale carrying a mysterious package - to burst through the front door
40. Picking up any sort of stick, pole, or tube and suddenly you’re a famous swordsman (or Jedi) about to engage in an epic battle
41. Taking a shower, just minding your business, when you hear the sound of someone entering the room and suddenly you’re convinced someone’s going to stab you a la that scene in Psycho
42. Rising to your feet after a long session of weeding, your back aching, and suddenly you’re a peasant laboring in the fields for the overseer
43. Sipping a cup of tea and suddenly you’re a character in a British novel of manners
44. Walking along the beach, the wind catching your clothes, and suddenly you’re the ingenue in a romance novel, waiting for your sailor to return from the sea
45. Boarding a train and suddenly you’re a character in a thriller, surrounded by fellow passengers who are almost certainly spies, celebrities in disguise, or international jewel thieves
46. Plopping yourself down at the counter of a restaurant and suddenly you’re a 1950s teen decked out in saddle shoes and a poodle skirt, preparing to order a burger and a malted.