"Degrassi: The Next Generation"’s run on television is coming to an end after 14 seasons. Since the show premiered in 2001, teens from all over the world have fallen in love with the Canadian TV drama about high school and all of the joys and horrors that come with it. As a 21-year-old, most of my memories involve the original characters of the show including Emma, Marco, Ashley, JT, Liberty, Craig, Manny, Toby, Sean, Spinner, Paige, Ellie and my personal favorite, the one and only, Jimmy Brooks.

When I heard that the show was ending, I didn’t understand why I felt so sad. In truth, I haven’t watched the show in years and I couldn’t name one character on the current season. Soon after the news broke of the cancellation, it was announced that the show would continue on Netflix. Seeing "Degrassi" in the headlines caused my head to become flooded with memories from watching the show years ago. I remembered Ashley and Jimmy dating during the first season and their relationship coming to a crashing halt once Ashley took drugs at a party and kissed Sean. I also remembered queen bee Paige calling everyone “hun,” Liberty’s intense crush on JT, Manny’s thong baring ensemble when she decided she was sick of being a “cute girl” and many more moments that never failed to bring the shock factor.

The beauty of "Degrassi" was that it didn’t sugar coat anything. Heck, the show’s tagline was “It goes there.” Just when you thought the show couldn’t go any further, it did. Characters fell in love, got cheated on, broke up, drank, did drugs, experienced abusive relationships, fell into the wrong crowd and even died. The show was not afraid to show the dark moments that, unfortunately, high schoolers must deal with. "Degrassi" also cast actual teens to play the students. 30-year-old actors with 12-pack abs did not play the guys and 25-year-old former models did not play the girls. Viewers watched the actors grow up with their characters, which made the show feel even more real. The show was also groundbreaking in many ways. One of the most heartbreaking episodes followed the character Marco as he came to terms with his sexuality and struggled with coming out to his friends and family. Storylines that dealt with teen pregnancy and rape were also brought to the forefront.

Despite "going there" and never shying away from the shocking moments, "Degrassi" also brought the fun. Who can forget PMS, the girl group formed by Ashley, Paige and Terri?! There were also many school dances, many first loves/unrequited crushes and hilarious early 2000s fashions.

I can't write about my love from "Degrassi" without mentioning the huge crushes I had on the guys that graced Degrassi's halls. Who can forget Craig? Despite momentarily hating him for cheating on Ashley with Manny, that curly headed dreamboat always sucked me back in. He also put many teen girls at risk for passing out when he sang for Ashley's forgiveness at the battle of the bands. I also can't forget Sean! Sean was the bad boy of "Degrassi," who had the lushest eyebrows in town and was also able to pull off a beanie (talk about impressive). Despite not being the best boyfriend to Emma, we always rooted for them to make it. And last, but certainly not least, Jimmy Brooks *swoon*. Jimmy was the handsome jock that seemed to put everyone in his or her place and knock some sense into them. Remember his rap with Spinner? Hmm, he was pretty good! I wonder if the actor continued to pursue music? Guess we'll never know!

Luckily for current teens, Netflix is giving them a second chance to fall in love with "Degrassi." Hopefully, the show will continue to bring the realness and fun like it did for us fans of the earlier seasons.

So thank you "Degrassi," for depicting high school with realistic trials and tribulations, giving teens characters to relate to and for reminding me that whatever it takes, I know I will make it through!