The education system at its finest

"Stop using big words to make yourself sound smarter!"
Me, who had been using words I learned in middle/high school:

This meme is structured with two lines of text at the top, followed by a reaction photograph. The first line quotes an unnamed person saying "Stop using big words to make yourself sound smarter!". The second line sets up the context: the poster, who only used standard vocabulary they learned in middle or high school, reacting to that unfair comment. The reaction image shows CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins standing outside the White House with a confused, baffled, mildly disgusted and disbelieving expression. The joke mocks the declining standards of general education, as common vocabulary that was once standard learning for secondary school students is now being dismissed as pretentious, overly complex "big words" by many people.

This meme was sourced from an RSS feed of the Reddit r/Meme subreddit, where it was originally shared with the title referencing the education system. It uses a widely circulated Kaitlan Collins confused reaction image template, which originated from a real on-air news clip of the reporter outside the White House. This template is commonly used online to express disbelief at absurd, illogical, or unfair statements.