Over the past two years, many in the CHS community have grown to learn about the highly-acclaimed Instagram account–@cypressmemes_. The account has nearly 100 posts sharing both relatable and comical memes that only Cypress students are capable of understanding. With over 1,000 followers on Instagram, along with students creating merchandise and participating in “spirit days,” it’s clear to see that the account has grown to be admired by students from all across the campus. The account has inspired others from Cypress High School and students from schools outside of California.
The identity of cypressmemes_ has been kept as a secret that only a select few have known about. On November 20th, the owner of the account revealed their identity. Nicole Thach, a senior here at Cypress, had been anonymously posting on the account where she’s gained over 1,500 Cypress students’ support. Thach had previously attended Oxford Academy and transferred to Cypress by the time she was a sophomore. Thach states, “When I first transferred to Cypress, my relationship with school was terrible. Running Cypressmemes_ healed my perception of school in ways that I could never imagine.”
The account began its journey when she posted a photo of a carton of the school’s chocolate milk, with the initial goal of earning 765 likes on the post, surpassing the most-liked photo on the school’s official account. With other students’ enthusiasm, the account exceeded their expectations, gaining over 600 likes more than she expected–which was only the beginning of the support from others. Apart from the support shown online, students showed their appreciation for the account by participating in organized events, such as Black Out Friday, where students who admired the account, showed up to school wearing black, one of which even wore an “I <3 Cypressmemes_” shirt. Thach added, “I knew people would like the account, but seeing so many people love it was the most insane thing, and still to this day, I can’t believe what the account has been capable of.”
In addition to the support shown online, the account has also shown an impact in school–one of which includes the appearance of Cypressmemes_ in both this year’s and last year’s yearbooks. In one of the sections from last year’s yearbook, Thach was allowed to share the inside of the account’s locker, which showed an arrangement of gifts given by fans of the account. This year one of the senior yearbook standout categories included “Most likely to be Cypressmemes_.” Thach added, “It feels insane and I’m grateful for the opportunity. I think it’s really cool seeing my account be involved in school things such as the newspaper and the yearbook. It makes me feel like I am truly a part of the school environment and a vital part to Cypress.”
With the countless names being thrown out to the account as a theory, many people have guessed it was Thach, which she had to deny throughout the years. Thach claims that many people theorized based on different details. “Some people assumed it was me because I did comedy at Cypress Got Talent. Other people linked it to my music taste and graphic design skills… there’s a lot of things that were bound to rat me out.” After everything, Thach says that it’s been bittersweet letting Cypressmemes_ go, but the reveal has been relieving. After everything the account accomplished, she never planned on leaving the school without being able to reveal who was behind it.
With the growing amount of publicity the account has gained over the past two years, other schools have also followed in the footsteps of Cypressmemes_ including the neighboring junior high school just minutes away–Orangeview Junior High School. With the close-to-identical Instagram bio to Thach’s unique posts that students who attend the school also relate to, it’s visible that Cypressmemes_ has inspired people beyond the schools’ campus–in fact as far out as schools in Nevada. Cypressmemes_ said, “I think it’s awesome knowing that I’ve inspired other schools to make meme pages. I think every school deserves some sort of @cypressmemes_ for themselves because seriously, it’s good for the community. Nobody can outdo Cypress though.”
What started as a small account run by a student bored in her room, turned out to be an account where current students and alumni grow to find joy. Although the journey of cypressmemes_ has come to an end, students continue to spread the amusement the account has helped create over the years.
