Photo provided by Tahlia Jain ’26

This diagram from Melanie’s AP Bio class looks terrifying.

Lately, videos with the trend “When your card declines at therapy so they make you relive (insert a bad memory)” have appeared all over Instagram and TikTok. Completing the statement can range from embarrassing moments to stories that are actually traumatic, and several Royals chimed in:

• When my card declines at therapy so I have to go get my essay ripped to shreds by Mr. Bevins (Emma Muse ’26).
• When my card declines at therapy so they force me to listen to Imagine Dragons or they pull up my Aeries (Marci Rau ’24).
• When my card declines at therapy so they bring up that one situationship (Kailey La ’26).
• When your card declines at therapy so they bring you back to freshman year (Maddie Lawrence ’26).
• When your card declines at therapy so Word deletes your entire essay (Christina Vaughan ’26). 
• When your card declines at therapy and that math teacher comes out (Aurora Ortuno ’26).
• When your card declines at therapy and they pull out the AP Euro textbook (Aurora).
• When my card declines at therapy and they give me a reading log paper (Aurora).
• When your card declines at therapy so they make you go back to sophomore year and sophomore chemistry (Ava Fredman ’25).
• When your card declines at therapy so they send you back to seventh grade to solve a math problem in front of the class (Melanie Kamel ’24).
• When your card declines at therapy so they make you retake the AP Bio test (Melanie).
• When your card declines at therapy so they make you read Benjamin Franklin’s autobiography— shoutout to Honors English III and Ms. Barclay’s ’94 grandfather Ben Frank (Melanie).
• When your card declines at therapy so they remind you you’ve never won Red and Gold (Izzy Walker ’24).
• When your card declines at therapy so they throw up in front of you, triggering your emetophobia (Gigi Coo ’24).

My contributions:

• When my card declines at therapy so they bring up the time I mispronounced Putin as poutine in a Model UN speech.
• When my card declines at therapy so they make me switch to Team Jeremiah.
• When my card declines at therapy so they make me drink the blue Mucinex medicine.
• When my card declines at therapy so they give me a C for running the mile slowly even though I have asthma.
• When my card declines at therapy so they bring out my elementary school classmates.
• When my card declines at therapy so they make me do a group project.
• When my card declines at therapy so they bring up the time my team lost Red and Gold, and my mom immediately told me how much she loved one of the other team’s choral songs.

We are not intending to insult anyone who actually goes to therapy; these trends are just always relatable, especially the school experiences. Share your own version of “When your card declines at therapy” in the comments!