By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — Nevaeh Johnson is famous for crying. These days she’s all smiles.
The 13-year-old Rockford middle schooler appeared on The Morning Routine with Matt and Chelsea on B103 on Monday to talk about her unique celebrity status as the subject of a viral meme.
Johnson was 5 years old when former Rockford Register Star photographer Max Gersh captured a picture of her having a rough first day of kindergarten at Conklin Elementary School in 2014.
“He just happened to capture that picture in the moment with her one little tear coming down her eye,” said Valerie Johnson, Nevaeh’s mom.
Background: Rockford’s ‘crying girl’ became a viral meme. Here’s what she’s up to now
That image has now been seen by millions of people as part of multiple different memes meant to express a shared feeling of frustration. It has been tweeted by pop singer Katy Perry during “American Idol,” commented on by music legend Cher and liked by more than 680,000 people on one popular Instagram meme page.
But, with the exception of some family members and friends, few people knew the image was of Nevaeh until the Rock River Current published a story about the viral meme two weeks ago. Now, fellow students and others in Rockford know.
“In the video that he actually made, my first hour teacher shared it on Friday in front of the whole class,” Nevaeh said of the Rock River Current’s video story.
Nevaeh now spends her time playing basketball or hanging out with friends, and she dreams of playing in the WNBA or perhaps owning her own restaurant.
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There are many different iterations of the meme. One reads “I’m tired of witnessing once-in-a-lifetime historical events. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.” Another says, “Kids in 2050 trying to study for the 2019-2022 history test.” One of the first Valerie Johnson saw was meant to showcase the difficulty of nursing school.
Nevaeh’s favorite was about the stress of finishing up math at the dinner table. Her mom likes one that Nevaeh’s uncle made just for her about not being able to play video games because you’re grounded.
Nevaeh said the photo was initially embarrassing, but now she’s having fun with it and learning how many people relate to what she felt that day eight years ago.
“Every single day, every day … I feel like you in that picture,” Matt Hall told Nevaeh.
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on Twitter at @KevinMHaas.
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