If you think back to the beginning of the year, you probably never dreamed that your life could change so quickly. The things we all take for granted—travel, dinner with friends, and even haircuts—are now canceled (or at the very least, postponed) because of the coronavirus. Comedian Julie Nolke perfectly conveys the bizarreness of this moment in time in her hilarious video, Explaining the Pandemic to My Past Self.
In the three-minute-long piece, “Julie from four months in the future” sits across a table from herself in January 2020. “Because of the butterfly effect,” Future Julie explains, “I can only give you some loose details, but we’ll go through the basics.” She begins with the good news—in regards to climate change, things have improved. Past Julie is happy to hear it, especially in light of the Australia fires, which she predicts will “define 2020.” Future Julie warns her, “Your definition of a ‘pretty big deal’ is going to change.”