Honestly, if you were on the internet in 2013, you probably remember where you were when you first saw it. That specific, shaky animation styles shifting every twenty seconds. The voice—heavy, rhythmic, and undeniably raw—drilling into the parts of your childhood you thought you’d buried.
To This Day Shane Koyczan didn't just go viral; it became a cultural landmark. It was a seven-minute emotional wrecking ball that forced us to look at bullying not as a "rite of passage," but as a series of tectonic shifts that alter the landscape of a person’s life forever.
The Pork Chop and the Karate Chop
It started with a misunderstanding. A kid who thought pork chops and karate chops were the same thing. It sounds funny, right? It sounds like a "Kids Say the Darndest Things" segment. But for Shane, it was the spark that lit a lifelong fire.
He ended up with a nickname that stuck like tar. "Pork Chop." People think words are fleeting. They aren't. They’re seeds. When Shane spoke those lines at the 2013 TED Conference in Long Beach, you could hear a pin drop. He wasn't just reciting a poem; he was performing an autopsy on his own trauma. He talked about the "class of we made it," the survivors who grew up to be "graduating members of the faded echoes."
A Project Built by Eighty Sets of Hands
The video wasn’t just Shane’s voice. That’s the thing people forget. The To This Day Project was a massive, decentralized collaboration. We’re talking about 12 lead animators and over 80 artists who volunteered their time.
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Each artist took a 20-second segment.
That’s why the visuals feel so frantic and diverse. One moment you’re looking at a stop-motion heart, and the next, it’s a minimalist 2D sketch of a school hallway that looks like a war zone. It mirrored the internal chaos of being a kid who doesn't fit in. It wasn't polished because healing isn't polished.
- Release Date: February 19, 2013.
- Initial Impact: 1.4 million views in two days.
- Legacy: Over 25 million views to date and used in thousands of classrooms.
Why "To This Day" Still Matters in 2026
You might think a poem from over ten years ago would feel dated. It doesn't. If anything, the rise of digital cruelty has made it more relevant. We live in an era where the bullying doesn't stop at the school gate; it follows you into your pocket, onto your lock screen, and into your dreams.
Shane’s message wasn't just "be nice." It was "you are beautiful."
He famously said that if you can't see anything beautiful about yourself, you need a better mirror. You need to look a little closer. Stare a little longer. It’s a bit cliché when you write it down, but when he says it? It feels like a lifeline.
The Evolution of the Work
Shane didn't just stop at the video. He turned it into a graphic novel titled To This Day: For the Bullied and Beautiful. He even helped launch an app that provided resources for kids in crisis. He took the "viral" moment and turned it into a literal infrastructure for support.
He proved that spoken word isn't just for smoky cafes. It’s for the kid sitting in the back of the bus wondering if it ever gets better.
The Reality of the "Class of We Made It"
Let’s be real for a second. The poem acknowledges something most anti-bullying campaigns ignore: the scars stay.
The title itself, To This Day, is an admission. It means that even as a successful, world-renowned poet who performed at the 2010 Winter Olympics, Shane still carries those voices. He’s telling us that "sticks and stones" was the biggest lie we were ever told. Names do hurt. They change the way we see ourselves in the mirror.
But the beauty is in the "still here."
He frames survival as a balancing act. It’s not about the absence of pain; it’s about the presence of beauty despite it. It’s about the fact that we are not "abandoned cars stalled out and sitting empty on some highway." We just got out to walk and get gas.
Actionable Steps: Using the Message
If you're a teacher, a parent, or just someone who still feels the sting of an old nickname, here’s how to actually use the "To This Day" philosophy:
- Watch the video again. Seriously. But this time, don't just watch for the story—watch for the different animation styles. Notice how many different people had to come together to tell one story of pain. It’s a reminder that you aren't alone in the experience.
- Audit your "mirrors." Shane talks about getting a better mirror. In 2026, your "mirror" is often your social media feed. If the content you consume makes you feel like "debris," delete it. Curate your environment to reflect your worth, not your insecurities.
- Share the story, not just the link. If you know a kid struggling, don't just send them the YouTube link. Talk about the "pork chop" story. Talk about the "karate chop" misunderstanding. Vulnerability is the only thing that actually kills the power of a bully.
Shane Koyczan didn't give us a magic wand to stop people from being mean. He gave us a shield. He reminded us that the people who tried to bury us didn't realize we were seeds.
To this day, he’s still right.