September is the Jan Brady of the calendar months—wedged right between the summer sizzle of August and the pumpkin-spiced basicness of October. It’s the time when school bells ring louder than freedom, when beach balls get deflated in favor of textbooks, and when your boss, who was once so chill, now sounds more like a drill sergeant. With Labor Day barbecues turning into memory lane and the first whiffs of fall in the air, September serves up the ultimate reality check. “Summer is over; get your life together,” it shouts, while sipping a lukewarm latte, because it’s still too early for hot coffee, but too late for iced.

Now, how does the Internet make peace with this seasonal identity crisis? With September Memes, naturally! These digital chuckles serve as our collective coping mechanism for the emotional roller coaster that is September.

Memes about trading flip-flops for loafers, or substituting margaritas with pumpkin spice lattes, capture the essence of the September transition. Others might focus on the universal dread of returning to school, complete with memes of kids crying at bus stops and parents either sobbing or celebrating. But the most iconic of them all? The “Wake Me Up When September Ends” meme, which pretty much encapsulates our collective desire to just fast-forward through this month like it’s a boring episode in an otherwise riveting Netflix series.

So go ahead, laugh at September’s awkwardness; it’s the meme therapy you didn’t know you needed!