An Ode To End-Of-Year Mash-Ups

How do you encapsulate a year of your life? In the celebrations you had? The losses you faced? The trials you overcame? Heck, no — you take every song on your Spotify playlist and jumble those things into one masterpiece that can only properly be referred to as "the jam." In my opinion, there's no better way to celebrate an entire year than by cramming tons of miscellaneous content into a three-minute video, which is why I can't help but honor end-of-year mash-ups.

Every year, my best friend and I wait with baited breath for the mash-ups to flow from the Internet like milk and honey, and this year has been no exception. Of course, there's the classic music mash-up that we've all come to know — but 2013 has taken the game and changed it, people. This year, we're getting everything from YouTube clips to movie-trailer mash-ups. Basically, there's never been more entertaining ways for you to avoid doing actual work.

Seriously, who are the people behind this? I hardly have the time to cook myself a well-balanced meal or floss, yet there are humans out there who not only can remember all of these fabulous moments, but have the attention, time, and skill set to assemble them into one YouTube video. Do you people have jobs? Would you like to work for me? I don't know what I could possibly employ you to do; I just figured I would ask.

These videos have managed to encapsulate the entire year for me — from Katy Perry's lessons on how to roar in the face of adversity to Icona Pop capturing my lifelong feeling of "I Don't Care" to whatever the hell The Harlem Shake was. Oh, the memories, the feels, the pants I'm going to dance off when these start playing on New Year's Eve. To add the whole movie factor into the mix is somehow beyond what I could have asked for from 2013. Truly, Internet, my cup runneth over — I may not have adequate health care, but I still have you and all your distractions.

So, join in with me, and send off 2013 the proper way — by blowing off whatever essential and beneficial thing you're doing to watch some of my favorite compilations. Let's just call it multitasking, and pat ourselves on our collective back, shall we? Enjoy the memories, everyone — we started from the bottom and now we're here with more mash-up goodness than we could possibly handle.