What is At First, I Was Like, But Then, I Was Like?

It is a phrasal template and image macro that pairs two panels of contrasting reactions under the sentence "At first I was like X, but then I was like X".

Where did At First, I Was Like, But Then, I Was Like come from?

The earliest documented use is an April 5, 2004, post on the My350Z forums by user 12SecZ, with an early image macro version uploaded to MyConfinedSpace by user Panzer on May 27, 2007.

What does At First, I Was Like, But Then, I Was Like mean?

It describes a sudden change in opinion or feeling about something, with the two panels showing the before and after reactions.

How do you use At First, I Was Like, But Then, I Was Like?

Stack two images, usually two faces or screenshots, under the matching "at first... but then" caption; some posts repeat the same picture twice to joke that nothing actually changed, as in the 2013 Kristen Stewart edit.

Is At First, I Was Like, But Then, I Was Like still popular?

It is a classic 2000s template that peaked across 2007 to 2013, with later examples such as the official Batman Facebook post from March 14, 2013, showing it was still being reused in mainstream pages.

At First, I Was Like, But Then, I Was Like

2004image macroclassic

Published October 25, 2026

At First, I Was Like, But Then, I Was Like is a phrasal template and image macro series showing a sudden shift in reaction, with two panels of contrasting facial expressions sitting under matching captions. Traces of it go back to a 2004 forum post with emoticons, and by 2013 the format turned up on an official Batman Facebook page and in Kristen Stewart demotivational edits.

two panel memes catchphrase memes snowclone memes reaction memes forum era memes

Overview

At First, I Was Like, But Then, I Was Like works by splitting a reaction into two beats under one caption. Panel one shows an initial response, panel two shows how the person feels after new information lands, and the shared sentence structure, "At first I was like X, but then I was like X," does the comedic heavy lifting1. Some versions use two different faces or screen grabs, while others repeat the exact same picture for irony1.

Typical posts caption celebrity shots, cartoon stills, or candid photos, and three-panel variants add a "Now I'm like" tag to extend the joke2. A 2013 Kristen Stewart edit at Nedmartin.org used two identical photos of the actress with the overlay "Please Kristen, control your emotions," riffing on her flat affect3. The template also absorbed earlier catchphrase spin-offs such as "At first I was like, but then I lol'd," posted on MyConfinedSpace in May 2007 by user Panzer1.

Gallery

Origin & Background

Platform

My350Z forums (phrase) / MyConfinedSpace (early image macro)

Date

2004

The exact first use is undocumented, but the phrasing shows up on April 5, 2004, in a My350Z forum thread about ground-wiring kits where user 12SecZ paired the "at first I was like... but then I was like" structure with text emoticons to narrate a change of mind1. That post predates the standard two-panel image macro and reads as a text-only ancestor of the format.

Three years later, on May 27, 2007, MyConfinedSpace user Panzer uploaded an early image version using the related caption "At first I was like, but then I lol'd," which went on to collect a 4.5 out of 5 rating from site voters4. The My350Z thread established the phrase; the MyConfinedSpace upload established the visual grammar of pairing it with contrasting faces1.

How It Spread

After the mid-2000s forum and MyConfinedSpace examples, the template drifted into other formats. A spin-off video trend started in 2009 built around a clip of Insane Clown Posse's "Hokus Pokus," using the laugh-then-shout audio to score a spinning image that flips from happy to furious. YouTuber Scoot Ampora's August 27, 2009, upload is one of the surviving examples and sat at over 84,000 views as of KYM's documentation5. A December 8, 2009, upload by Naturesshadow titled "At first i was like :|) then i was like :@" used the emoticon-forward phrasing from the original 2004 forum post and racked up more than 46,000 views6.

The image macro side kept moving through 2013. On March 14, 2013, the official Batman Facebook page posted a three-panel version ending on "Now I'm like," which drew over 6,600 likes, 771 shares, and 126 comments according to KYM's count1. The same year, ImgFlip user drivendiscipline uploaded a two-panel version that passed 15,000 views1.

Still in 2013, on November 13, the site Nedmartin.org posted a demotivational-style edit of Kristen Stewart that used the identical image twice for ironic effect, mocking her reputation for a fixed expression3. These later variants show how the template drifted from straight reaction gag to self-aware joke about reactions that never actually change.

Timeline

2004-04-05

My350Z user 12SecZ writes the phrase alongside emoticons in a forum thread, one of the earliest documented uses.

2007-05-27

MyConfinedSpace user Panzer uploads an image macro using the related phrase "At first I was like, but then I lol'd."

2009-08-27

YouTuber Scoot Ampora uploads a Hokus Pokus-scored spin-off video that later passes 84,000 views.

2009-12-08

YouTuber Naturesshadow uploads a video titled with the emoticon version ":|) then i was like :@".

2013-03-14

The official Batman Facebook page posts a three-panel version with a "Now I'm like" third frame.

2013-11-13

Nedmartin.org publishes a Kristen Stewart demotivational edit using the same image twice for irony.

How to Use This Meme

A typical build pairs two images stacked vertically with the caption "At first I was like [image/emoticon], but then I was like [image/emoticon]." Common conventions include flipping to a dramatically different expression for the second panel, or using the same picture twice when the point is that nothing actually changed. Three-panel variants often tack on a "Now I'm like" frame to show a longer-term feeling2.