Three months ago, I clicked on a Netflix title that changed the way I looked at sitcoms. The sitcom? How I Met Your Mother. Never mind that I lived in oblivion for nine years without stumbling on the show or even giving it a chance. Better late than never, right?

I should preface this by saying that I don’t watch tv, much less watch any show in its entirety from pilot to finale. But to every rule there is an exception, and How I Met Your Mother was my exception. Something about the premise, the humor, and the characters just resonated with me. Here are a few of the universal life lessons I identified with:

1. Ted’s ubiquitous search for The One. Not coincidentally, I binge watched the show during a time when I had just found out an ex had undeniably and certifiably moved on. Hell, Ted was left at the altar, but in hindsight he reflected, “From that moment, I wasn’t angry anymore. Kids, you may think your only choices are to swallow your anger or to throw it in someone’s face, but there’s a third option: you can just let it go. And only when you do that is it really gone and you can move forward. And that kids, was the perfect ending to the perfect love story. It just wasn’t mine. Mine was still out there, waiting for me.” What is so reassuring about the show was the certainty of a sure thing, a happy ending. And though my ending is still uncertain, I know for certain that I can let go of what was not meant to be, at least for me.

2. Encyclopaedia. No, not the British spelling, but Ted’s ridiculously stubborn mispronunciation. Sure, Ted has been likened to Ross from Friends, and notoriously irks some viewers, but I’ve always found him uniquely endearing. But, as Ted once said, “Shouldn’t we hold out for the person who doesn’t just tolerate our little quirks but actually kind of likes them?” Am I proponent of going around erroneously producing words? As a future Speech Language Pathologist, no. But I am a proponent for embracing one’s quirks, and holding out for the one who also embraces those quirks.

3. The story of Gary Blauman. The title of the latter episodes of the final season was based on a minor character that taught a major life lesson, keeping in touch and losing touch. As I’ve reached my mid and now late twenties, I only keep in touch with my family and few friends. What more, shit happens or has happened, and I’ve realized I really don’t give a fuck. Dear friends and significant others that I have once held so close to me have simply chosen another course in life. Others who were constant fixtures at certain stages in my life are nothing more but a bygone memory. Older Ted reflects, saying, “And that’s how it goes, kids. The friends, neighbors, drinking buddies, and partners in crime you love so much when you’re young, as the years go by, you just lose touch. You will be shocked, kids, 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.” That is arguably one of the most true-to-life realizations of mid to late twenty-something’s.

Thank you, How I Met Your Mother, for the entertaining life lessons. Can’t wait for the final sendoff this coming Monday.

Best,
Phoebe