What should we call Charlotte

We take gifs for granted. Remember the days of yore, when gifs were used only by Reddit hermits? Can you hearken back to a time before the unfettered masses (i.e. moi) had access to a gif keyboard?

My first gif experience was with a Tumblr account called What Should We Call Me (WSWCM). In college, I would sit in my underwear eating day-old chicken, scrolling through page after page and snorting with laughter. With just a sentence fragment and a maximum of 64 frames, someone could convey exactly what it’s like pull an all-nighter or embarrass yourself in front of a cute dude (not that I am familiar with either of these experiences).

Gifs gave us a way to collectively celebrate or commiserate with a bite-sized, digestible story.

Inspired, tons of Tumblr-ers emulated WSWCM for more specific populations — WSWC Nursing, WSWC Grad School — so that they could mutually eye roll with people who really knew what their lives were like.

Though WSWCM is pretty much irrelevant now (as evidenced by the jank interface), I’ve created a new off-shoot of WSCWM: What Should We Call Charlotte. In just a few gifs, here is a summary of a year and a half of my experiences since moving to Charlotte. Feel free to contribute, using the hashtag #WSWCC.

When you walk by The Firebird on a sunny day.

When you’re getting off I-277 at the NoDa exit (3A) during rush hour.

When you get lost in the 7th Street Station parking lot.

When you walk onto the Common Market patio.

When you’re waiting on the patio to get seated at Soul, and you see a table get their food.

When a new condominium complex is erected.

Image sources: Robert Lahser/Charlotte Observer, http://i.imgur.com/YA3PFve.gif, https://45.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_maqavq23wI1rg42zjo1_500.gif, https://media.giphy.com/media/FxJ2eenpFHnby/giphy.gif, http://cdn1.theodysseyonline.com/files/2016/02/13/6359093591449412431790579499_giphy.gif, https://heavyeditorial.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/tumblr_m3gqteybrj1qc0cxpo1_250.gif?w=780, https://media2.giphy.com/media/H3X6Ky4ch0q08/200_s.gif

This story was originally published March 22, 2016 at 10:18 PM with the headline "What should we call Charlotte."