Rumors are running rampant, and although they might be true, SpongeBob will live on forever for our generation because we have never not had him in our lives.

The series started in 1999, meaning every student in this school has grown up with this friendly  square, yellow sponge. We’ve argued about who would be Dirty Dan or Pinhead, quoting “Are you feeling it now, Mr. Krabs,” and singing “F.U.N.” We watched the “How To Make a Krabby Patty” episode, cried when Gary got lost and knew the SpongeBob Movie word for word.

I may not watch the show anymore, but hearing that it is the end of Spongebob is a blow to the foundation of my childhood. I can sing the Krusty Krab Pizza jingle genre through genre, and I can hear their laughs in my head. I still really want to know what’s in the secret recipe.

The sponge we’ve all come to know is the perfect main character. He’s not a child but certainly not an adult. SpongeBob is the epitome of childlike curiosity, unwavering dedication and innocence of the negativity around him.

He works with a crab obsessed with money as well as  the most depressing character  in Squidward Tentacles, whom we all know and love, yet he keeps the same attitude from the first episode “Help Wanted” when he got the job at the Krusty Krab.

The show has it all. Bubble blowing, jellyfishing, haunted pirate ships, burgers and sea creatures. A squirrel lives at the bottom of the sea, a squid loves the clarinet and art, and an evil sea plankton is married to a computer. It doesn’t get much weirder.

Everything in new cartoons these days is trying too hard compared to the animation of Bikini Bottom. There are too much bright colors, explosions and weird comedy. SpongBbob was funny and creative. Shows these days aren’t even original; they’re based off of things that were made in the past.

I don’t think there’s a cartoon show that quite lives up to the legacy SpongeBob Squarepants holds. Rumors say that legacy is coming to an end today, and as much as it saddens me, it has to happen eventually whether it’s really today or not.

Kids in the future just won’t understand what it was like growing up with this show. It may not be the “best day ever” today, but with some time and bingewatching, we can get over this loss. Also the older episodes were better anyway, so go back and watch them all again on rerun.