Everyone has that one album, movie, or piece of pop culture that they claim shaped them into the person they are, but some take their obsessions too far. The “Thank you for changing my life” meme (also known as the “Thank you for saving my life” meme) pokes fun at people who put a lot of stock in the things they like, even though those things cannot reciprocate their feelings.
Thank you for changing my life meme: The origins
In the “Thank you for changing my life” meme, a character from Wojack comics, usually Trad Girl, thanks an inanimate object for changing her life. The subject of her gratitude responds that it’s “literally” just a thing.
Like many memes before it the “Thank you for changing my life” meme started with a viral post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
In November 2020, a Twitter user posted a meme in which Trad Girl appeared alongside an image of Taylor Swift’s album, “Folklore.”
— dario (@isitromantic) November 29, 2020
“Thank you for changing my life,” says Trad Girl, while the album responds, “I’m literally an album.” The post has over 19,000 likes to date, and within an hour of it being uploaded, other users on the platform had started to put their own spin on the “Thank you” meme, using it to point out things that had not only changed their lives—but also ruined their lives.
“Thank you for changing my life” meme template
Spread of the “Thank you for changing my life” meme
In a popular post with over 18,000 likes, user @legobatmans posted a version that replaced the “Folklore” album cover with an image of actress Rosamund Pike playing Amy Dunne in the 2014 movie Gone Girl. The caption under the character reads, “I’m literally a murderer.”
Soon after, the “Thank you” meme started appearing on other social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Reddit. User u/perhapshopeful, posting on the subreddit for the hit television show Killing Eve, replaced Trad Girl with a picture of Eve saying, “Thank you for saving my life,” while an image of Villanelle says back, “I literally killed your best friend.”
Other examples of the ‘Thank you for saving my life’ meme
By the end of the year, the meme format had fully taken over. Another reddit user, u/dragonbooom, posted a tribute to the New Year using the “Thank you” meme.
On Instagram, the meme account @laughlanding posted the meme with Trad Girl thanking a Don Julio bottle of tequila. “I’m literally an alcohol bottle,” the tequila bottle responds.
The @theavengers.memes account posted its own comic-themed version in anticipation of 2023’s Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. The creator of the meme appeared to be making fun of fans who had professed their love for the film before its release by having the movie respond to the thank you phrase by saying, “I’m literally not even complete yet.”
Even brands began to use the meme in an attempt to create some savvy internet marketing, with New York City’s Prince Street Pizza getting in on the act to hype up their pizza.
In 2023, the meme appeared to have consumed itself when a user named plaffy on Memeroid posted a version of the meme in which a Wojack character thanks Pepe the Frog for changing his life, and Pepe says back, “I’m literally just a meme.”
Although the “Thank you” meme follows a relatively simple format, its ability to make fun of overly enthusiastic fans has helped it remain a favorite among internet users.