The Office of Academic Support team communicates on MS Teams a lot. And within those channels, threads, individual/group chats, we must rise to the occasion with GIFs and memes that support our colleagues, convey our most astute reactions, and help us navigate successes and challenges. I can’t speak for all of us, but I can say that I love a quality GIF reaction. And I am happy to share five that have great versatility for your consideration.
That’s What Heroes Do
It’s the start of the year. Someone you know has done something awesome to kick off this new academic year! Maybe they’ve found a cool new way to support students or found a new keyboard shortcut nobody knew existed. There’s a GIF for that. Maybe you decided to challenge yourself and take on something new that makes you a bit nervous. Or you decided to say no to something—an intentional decision to support capacity. That’s what heroes do, folks. That’s what heroes do.
Detective Pikachu
Has someone ever asked you a Drupal 10 question, and you’ve no idea of the answer, but you suddenly feel a sense of (potentially misplaced) confidence in figuring it out? Or: have you or a colleague ever asked each other what something on your to-do list might mean—Past You had an intention, but Current You is now crowd sourcing for meaning? (Note: if nobody knows what it means, you get to cross it off your list). Or have you or someone else ever misplaced a common office item (an HDMI adapter, stapler, icebreaker cards, etc.)? If you answered yes to any of these questions, Detective Pikachu may be the GIF for you.
Star Trek Fist Bump
You do good work. Your colleagues do good work. You accomplish cool things together. In short, you rock. Channel your inner media tour Kirk and Spock with this GIF of Zachary Quinto and Chris Pine high fiving and fist bumping.
Elmo Falls
Accidentally schedule yourself to facilitate 5-7 different meetings, workshops, or presentations in a single week? Elmo falls. Just realize November is next week? Elmo falls. Read that conference proposal you had accepted three months ago and now have to actually plan it out? Elmo falls. Snow in April? Elmo falls.
So It Begins
Make work epic. The Horn of Helm Hammerhand will sound in the Deep one last time. And you will accomplish that amazing plan you’ve put together. And you will rock that new role/leadership opportunity. You will finally hold that hour to recycle excess paper or get documents in the shredding bin. Does this GIF have a bit of an ominous tone? Sure, but you can lean into that or ignore it. I used it today when sharing that I saw eggnog on store shelves last weekend [insert shrugging Elmo gif here].
What memes or GIFS show up the most in your work or Teams communication? Reply here or send me a Teams message (coffeym) with a GIF you love! Whether we know each other or not, I will be delighted and happily respond.
