'Exhausted' 9-year-old becomes internet star with hilarious reaction to shoveling snow

Editor's Note: This article was originally published on April 1, 2022. It has since been updated.

A young Toronto boy's weary sighs of exhaustion are resonating with millions of folks around the world. Nine-year-old Carter Trozzolo suddenly shot to social media fame when a CTV News camera crew stopped him for an interview while the youngster was shoveling snow in his neighborhood. The local third-grade student was tasked with the exhausting activity after a massive snowstorm that dumped almost 12 inches of snow on Toronto kept him home from school. Speaking to the camera crew about clearing all the snow that came his way, young Carter didn't hold back on sharing how he felt.

"Tiring," the boy told the camera crew, before letting out a hilariously heavy sigh. "I really wish I was in school right now." Carter revealed that he was out in his neighborhood, clearing heavy snow for basically everyone in the whole world. "For my neighbors, friends, probably people I even don't know," he explained with another heavy sigh. "I'm tired." The whole thing was made funnier—and incredibly relatable—by an onscreen graphic that ran beneath the youngster in the broadcast which identified the boy as "EXHAUSTED." The clip of Carter's TV appearance quickly went viral on social media and has since been viewed over 1.5 million times.

"Carter Trozzolo, the hero we didn't know we needed," wrote Twitter user Jim O'Leary, while another with the username @laurb0t added: "We are all Carter Trozzolo. I hear you, kid. I feel you." Singer Sara Bareilles was also among those won over by Carter's exhaustion. "Carter- 'exhausted' this is gold," she wrote, highlighting the way the youngster was identified by the graphic on the broadcast. Carter also got a shout-out from the official Twitter account for the Canadian Armed Forces in the United States of America. "Canada is so Canada sometimes that a day off school means you shovel for your neighbors, friends, and probably people you don't even know," they wrote. "See Carter Trozzolo. Be like Carter Trozzolo." 

When school was canceled yet again the following day, CTV News went back for a follow-up interview with the now-famous 9-year-old snow-shoveler, who revealed that he was "still exhausted." "I'm tired. I am always tired," Carter said. Speaking to reporters, the youngster's parent, Rachel DiSaia, shared that they think they understand why the video has been so popular. "A lot of us can relate to that amount of exhaustion with everything right now," they said. "I think he captured the emotions of many people."

"We try to be part of our community in the most useful way possible," DiSaia told As It Happens host, Carol Off. "So I tend to shovel for our neighbors as well... Carter has been helping out with that for the past couple of years. But he's reached the age where he can do some of it on his own. I'm really appreciative and it makes a big difference for the street." Addressing their son's lengthy sighs of exhaustion, DiSaia said: "We live in a dramatic time. I think I could serve Carter his favorite meal and I would get a similar sigh... It just comes with him."