Is there such a thing as Netflix destiny? Does every show you watch have its own timing and reasoning? I know this is an abstract idea to think about but that is how my life has seem to span out.
I feel like in some form or way, every television show has its own purpose, influence, and impact that it has on an individual.
Specifically, I just started watching the famous show "How I Met Your Mother" and it has truly come at the best time in terms of where my life is. How I Met Your Mother, yes is the story of a guy named Ted who is telling his children the story of how he met their mother. Ted is a hopeless romantic who spent a large part of his life looking for his soulmate and fulfilling his dreams of a good career, marriage and children. But, that is just one part of the whole story. There are four more friends, along with Ted who go through the ups and downs of life. Sure, this show is funny and has incredible comic relief, but the life lessons are inspiring and validating.
The themes of How I Met Your Mother include love, betrayal, change, acceptance, family, expectations, hardship, patience, and self realization. These are all aspects of life that everyone experiences and shapes them into the person they are.
There is a specific scene in one of the seasons, where Ted and another main character named Robin are talking. Robin had just given up her dream job to be with the man she loved only to find our that he has chosen his career over her and taken up another job. Robin feels dejected, alone, and foolish for giving up her dream for love. Ted explains to Robin that although it hurts, she should take some time and reflect on how far she has come in the last five years instead of beating herself down for what did not happen. Robin then realizes how much she has changed, matured, and accomplished. Sometimes, all we need in life is a little bit of perspective. In my own life, after dealing with a year of change in terms of my career path, people, and just a change in dynamic it was hard to see all the growth, and self realization I had accomplished. I failed to see that in this hard period of my life, I had began working three internships, became a student ambassador at my university, and joined two clubs. I was still stuck on the idea that my old toxic relationships had exhausted me and could not see all the progress I had made. Once I saw this episode, I did the same thing Ted did with Robin and realized that I had so much to be proud about. Of course I went through pain, but only to grow as a person and come out stronger.
In life we set our expectations to a certain standard. We are constantly chasing after what we want whether it is our career, relationships, etc. When things do not take place according to our "plan" we become shaken up and unhappy with the world and ourselves. Similarly, Ted is an architect who is looking to start his own company and design buildings around the country. When he quits his old job, he starts his own company from scratch and deals with many hurdles. He soon had to put his dream on hold and take up a job as an architect professor to make ends meet. This was something he was not looking forward to because he did not want to teach and he was disinterested. However, after awhile he realized that he is meant for teaching and had a passion to impact the lives of others. In life, things always take place that we do not expect or want, but somehow they have an impact on our life and a deeper purpose. In my life, losing all the people that I did, somehow ended up allowing me to really get involved with my career. I shifted my focus from people and began taking care of myself. Ideally, the life that I had envisioned for me now was with those same people l I once thought were my closest friends, instead, I am building a new community with people and have become extremely career driven. I feel motivated and that in my opinion is one of the most self fulfilling feelings. All this would not have happened if things would have gone in my way. It is almost like things not going in my way actually helped me.
This television show would not have made much sense to me if I had watched it before experiencing all that I have in the last two years. The difficult transition, meeting new people, and discovering myself in times of hardship and doubt have all made me understand this show so much better and in a totally different perspective.
Everything happens for a reason, a sometimes even something as silly as a television show has to come to you at the right moment for it to make an impact on your life and give you the assurance that everything is going to be okay.
In the words of Barney Stinson, this show is "legen...wait for it.....dary"!
