Chat are you seeing this? Brainrot is an epidemic that is spreading itself into the lives of teenagers and adults alike. Whether it be skibidi toilet, the rizzler, or being a sigma, brainrot has been able to infest itself into everyday conversations and life.
Although the meaning of brainrot is cloudy, a basic description would be a term or action that results in the loss of intelligence by the user. But how do you know that someone is a victim of brainrot? The easiest way to tell is if they spontaneously use brainrot terms without meaning to. Whenever a brainrot term is spat out such as sigma or chat then the plague is able to spread itself from one host to another. Being a victim of brainrot is not sigma.
There are a variety of teachers whose jobs consist of teaching not only one, but up to all grades. Elizabeth Okenfuss, Upper School math teacher and both Middle School and Upper School STEM teacher, and she is a major part of the campaign to stop brainrot. Her most disliked terms are chat and skibidi toilet. Okenfuss has attempted many times to try and cure the brainrot disease by keeping students after class who use brainrot terms, so that she can make them realize their own mistakes and become aware of their brainrot.
One of the terms Okenfuss struggles with the most is sigma. Okenfuss claims that she herself is not sigma and does not want to be sigma. She even questioned the term by saying:
“That’s the ultimate question […] what is the meaning of being a sigma?”
Her main way to fight against sigma is by explaining to the students the true meaning of it by which she says:
“Sigma is a math term, the sum of terms, so let’s focus on the mathematical definition of sigma.”
Although sigma is one of the most popular terms it does not compare to the problem of brainrot as a whole in which Okenfuss proudly takes a stand against. Okenfuss can agree to the claim that brainrot is vicious and has ruined modern day language. Okenfuss states:
“I am the number one opp of brainrot […] They (Students) need to learn to use real words that make sense again.”
Okenfuss continues to fight against brainrot, and uses her intelligence in order to recognize the symptoms. One of the students who Okenfuss was apparently able to cure is freshman Lawson Engel, and although he has been allegedly cured he still faces the tribulations of the side effects. Engel’s biggest problem is the continuation of the use of the word chat, and when asked about if he still uses other terms like skibidi toilet he says:
“If someone is talking to you about skibidi then you change the subject […] Nothing good comes from skibidi toilet.”
Even though he still suffers some symptoms it is evident that Okenfuss has been able to somewhat cure him, and give him awareness that his brainrot is a diabolical disease that ravages the minds of innocents. After his revelation of his own fault in brainrot Engel contemplated his experience with brainrot saying:
“It is a struggle to fight against saying brainrot. It is an addiction.”
Brainrot will continue to be a major issue in the lives of all, but it begs the question; is brainrot curable? And if it is not, then will it ever be curable? Engel still suffers with the issue of the word chat even after facing some sort of cure from Okenfuss, and his continuation to use this word really brings the big question. Is Engel cured? Evidently he is not as he continues to use brainrot even though he is aware of it, but the attempt Okenfuss has made to cure brainrot clearly has some effect on the minds of students, and should be taken as the best way to handle a situation in which someone is confronted with one of the infected.
