Tick tick tick. A realistic and nostalgic white rabbit holding a clock, with the caption stating, “All Roads Lead to Rome.” The phrase is used in conjunction with the popular reaction image on TikTok, often in the context of relationships and infatuation. The phrase “All Roads Lead to Rome” was derived from the French poet Alain de Lille in 1175, with De Lille’s famous saying translated from French to English, “A thousand roads lead a man forever towards Rome.” The saying means that no matter which pathway or method one chooses to achieve or accomplish, they will end up with the same conclusion. Many individuals online took this phrase and used it in different contexts, centralizing their own lives. For instance, the caption of a post will include the phrase, with the post revealing a couple while flashing an image of a Rabbit holding a clock.
The White Rabbit originates from Alice in Wonderland, symbolizing urgency and pressure. In Alice in Wonderland, the White Rabbit is constantly late, even while carrying a pocket watch. In multiple images and forms of media connecting to the trend, the rabbit points at a clock, expressing the lack of time left and the inevitability of ending up at the same place. The Cheshire Cat originates from the same media, but has an opposing ideology from the White Rabbit. The Cheshire Cat indicates that everything will not come to an end.
“They can start seeing patterns that are occurring, it’s just the same thing, like chasing temporary satisfaction,” FHS junior Mariya Chukhno said.
The most common way this trend is used is in the context of romantic relationships. Many ex-couples post with the phrase. As the original phrase mentions how all things come to an end, this leads to fear of abandonment in many relationships. This causes many others to be concerned about their own relationships, leading them to suffer fatalism and reduced motivation in their own lives, due to how popularized this concept of conclusions became in the media.
Others state the meaning and the effects that come from All Roads Lead to Rome. These individuals prove how social media can really affect mental health and relationships with others based on trends and misinformation. What seems to be a funny meme, underlying, depicts a new perspective on the reality of love.
“ I think the original phrase is true, that you don’t have to do what other people are telling you to get where you want to go,” FHS senior Daniel Marquez Vera said. “It is funny, but I think that people who are, like, really relating, maybe the relationship things, it’s hitting, it’s very vulnerable people who are seeing it, and then now they’re getting more more pieces of their life, examined, and told.”
Depending on the individual, this phrase can be interpreted as a hilarious meme or a concerning trend for ex-couples. Spiking in popularity in 2020, and making a comeback into 2025, the phrase continues to be used as a depressing figure of speech for those individuals with broken hearts and loss of hope.
