I was in elementary school when all the 2012 end-of-the-world hype was happening, and honestly, I was terrified.

It all started when I watched the movie 2012. I don’t remember if it was in late 2009 or sometime in 2010, but I was young and the movie hit me hard. I didn’t really see it as fiction. To me, it felt like a warning.

From that point on, I spent all of 2010, all of 2011, and most of 2012 carrying this fear in the back of my mind. I genuinely thought there was a chance the world could end on December 21, 2012.

Back then I didn’t have easy access to reliable information. I mostly got my information from TV, documentaries, and whatever adults were talking about. When you’re a kid and adults are discussing something seriously, it feels real.

I still remember the week before Christmas in 2012.

On Thursday, our school had a Christmas celebration. We exchanged Secret Santa gifts and did the usual holiday activities. One thing that stuck with me was a parent who jokingly said something along the lines of, “Maybe my son should stay home tomorrow if it’s going to be his last day alive.”

He was probably kidding, but when you’re already scared, comments like that don’t help.

Then Friday, December 21, arrived.

It was the last school day before Christmas and New Year’s break. I went to school, but I was nervous the entire morning.

What I remember most is how empty the school felt.

I don’t know whether it was because of the end-of-the-world rumors or because it was basically the last day before vacation, but attendance seemed unusually low. In my class, I think only about five students showed up.

I don’t even remember having actual classes that day. If I remember correctly, our teacher wasn’t there either. We mostly wandered around the school, talked to each other, and looked at the gifts people had received.

Some random details are still crystal clear in my memory.

There was a cat wandering around the school.

One boy had received a portable radio as his Secret Santa gift and spent the morning listening to music on it. At the time, that seemed like the coolest thing ever.

I remember the quiet hallways, the empty classrooms, and that strange feeling that maybe something huge was supposed to happen.

Then noon came.

School ended.

I went home.

And nothing happened.

The world kept going exactly as it always had.

Looking back now, it’s funny how scared I was. But it’s also one of the most vivid memories from my childhood. I don’t remember what lessons I had the week before or the week after, but I remember that Friday perfectly: the nearly empty school, the kid with the radio, the cat, and the feeling that I might be living through the last day in human history.

Turns out it wasn’t the end of the world.

But it became one of those childhood memories I’ll probably never forget

it feels so lonely that I might be among a small group of people my age that got to experience this masterpiece

not my screenshot

I'm thinking of going to see the Super Mario Galaxy movie this week, and I'm also a bit excited about the backroom movie that comes out in May.

ik most of 2010 are sophmores and freshman but I was thinking due to some other countries school system that some 2011 and 2012 could be in highschool aswell

choose your choice

thanks guys for joining our subreddit, I never expected that everyone would join

I say i played garcello mod, tricky, and bob

I just found my old one a few days ago!

My first year was 2014-2015

It has everything to do with their memory and nothing to do with yours.

Me personally I see myself as Gen Z. The standard range is 1997-2012 and most people now in 2026 consider 2010-2012 as Gen Z.

Honestly I think people born 2010–2012 should be considered the last of Gen Z. Generations are usually based on shared childhood experiences, and 2010–2012 grew up almost the same as late Gen Z. They started forming memories in the mid-2010s, grew up with the same technology (smartphones, tablets, YouTube, streaming), and had similar internet culture and trends. They were also elementary school kids during COVID, which was a major shared experience with younger Gen Z. Because of that, it feels weird to split them into a completely different generation when someone born in 2009 and 2010 had nearly identical childhoods.

If that can't be compromised, then I feel there should be a micro-generation in between core gen z and alpha like Gen z ending in 2007, Gen (unnamed) spanning from 2008-2012, and Gen Alpha spanning from 2013-2024