Things I learned from How I Met Your Mother at exactly the perfect time in my life
This already feels like a ridiculous blog post. I have spent the past 3 months watching How I Met Your Mother non-stop. I know it sounds crazy, but it was the thing I looked forward to most in my day. Finally coming home, pouring a glass of wine and laughing at five people that actually made me feel really okay…even when I wasn’t. Needless to say, when I finished the last episode I was pretty much devastated and cried harder than the American population did in 1994 after the tragic death of Mufasa (RIP). I am not crazy and I rarely get into shows or movies. Ace Ventura Pet detective being the only exception, I could probably spew out maximum one or two movie quotes if I was lucky. But I somehow managed to find a way to bring a HIMYM quote or lesson into my day at least once. Is it weird to admit that I learned real life lessons from this show when I needed it most?
How I Met Your Mother has been in the background of my life while I have…
- Gotten into a car accident
- Got my bike stolen
- Pushed my bank account down to a whopping $10
- Helped a friend after her car got broken into
- Got into a verbal showdown with my landlord over a drain
- Got into a verbal showdown with my landlord over asbestos
- Watched out my window for ambulance after someone was shot 3 doors down from my house
- Hung out with a homeless man at 8 am at bus stop
- Threw a failure of a birthday party
- Turned 23… and I guess no body likes you when you’re 23
- Threw a successful Friendsgiving
- Survived my first fall without being a volleyball player
- Watched my best friends finish their last
- Failed in a relationship I thought would last forever
- Stayed up past 4 am three times
- Drank wine for breakfast. Thank you, Linus
- Ate a can of green beans and a brownie for dinner
- Cut 10 inches off of my hair (and pulling. it. off!)
- Been to two Red Wings Games
- Been to a killer art show
- Been to an even killer art event
- Publicly spoke at my work conference without blacking out
- Caught up with some old friends for the first time in a year
- Met new friends that have changed me permanently and for the better
- Spent more money on uber rides then I have in my entire life
- Fell in love with my job
- Fell in love with Detroit
- Fell out of love with Detroit
- Then decided to forgive Detroit
So how does HIMYM leave me? WELL, in that really scary thing they call a show hole that I didn’t think existed. But also, it made me REALLY happy to be in my 20’s. To be struggling. To be going out with friends whenever I can. To being raw, authentic, weird, and completely unsure of myself but also figuring it out all at the same time. As you can see my past few months have been a complete rollercoaster ride. Some really epic failures, some legen…wait for it…dary moments. This is the most independent I have ever been in my life, and also the most changing.
For three months I watched 5 friends lose loved ones, fail in relationships, fall in love, land their dream jobs, accept life’s challenges and all the while doing it hilariously. But when it ended it didn’t exactly end happy. They were all tied down, had kids and wanting to go to bed at 9 pm. They ended their story telling the amazing tales of their friendship during the years I am living right now and wishing they could go back.
I know that life is messy, and not always what we are asking for. But one thing I have learned is that this life I am living, that we are all living, really isn’t perfect. I know someday I will be telling the stories of who I am right now wishing I could go back. So that’s why I am happy to be exactly where I am at right now. I welcome this rollercoaster ride of my twenties with wide open arms.
If you have never seen the show and don’t want to spend the next three months of your life dedicated to it, here are some quotes that stuck with me:
- Whatever you do in this life, it’s not legendary unless your friends are there to see it
- You can’t cling to the past. Because no matter how tightly you hold on, it’s already gone
- If you have chemistry you only need one thing. Timing. But, timing’s a bitch
- Sure its messy, but it’s the story that got us here
- That’s how it goes. The friends, neighbors, drinking buddies, and partners-in-crime you loved so much when you’re young – as the years go by you just lose touch…you will be shocked when you discover how easy it is in life to part ways with people forever. That’s why when you find someone you want to keep around, you do something about it.
- When I get sad I stop being sad, and be awesome instead.
- The great moments of your life won’t necessarily be the things you do, they will also be the things that happen to you. Now, I am not saying you can’t take action to affect the outcome of your life, you have to take action and you will. But never forget that on any day, you can step out the front and and your whole life can change forever. You see, the universe has a plan and that plan is always in motion. A butterfly flaps its wings, and it starts to rain. It’s a scary thought but it’s also kind of wonderful. All these little parts of the machine constantly working, making sure that you end up exactly where you’re supposed to be, exactly when you’re supposed to be there.