I know, I know. Don't judge just yet though.
I still remember the first time I ever watched an episode of "Glee." For the longest time, I had an aversion to watching the show. When it debuted, I was a hopelessly closeted person who was afraid of so much and understood so little. The idea of watching a show with a notorious reputation for pushing boundaries, was deemed inappropriate to watch; wouldn't want to watch anything that would give me "ideas."
That's how it was said, where I come from. And it means "I don't want you watching that gay crap in this house because it's wrong. Period."
Well, I can say that the show did gives me ideas: "Wow, music really can express literally every single emotion possible." "I have a kickass taste in music." "Wow, it's actually okay to be gay."
Those were the ideas I had when watching "Glee." And although, in real life, I was several years older than the characters in the show, I found it to be one of the most relatable things I ever experienced.
It highlighted topics that were hard to deal with in the real world, especially sexuality, which hit home the closest for me. In a world where sexual identity is something you choose, the weight of that choice bears on your soul. And seeing the expression of that "choice" displayed on a critically acclaimed television show blew my mind. I knew, for a fact and without a doubt, that there wasn't anything unusual about two young boys kissing - just two young people who were trying to understand themselves a little bit more. It did, however, make a considerable group of, ahem, nice, Christian folk a little upset.
I can't even tell you how hard I just rolled my eyes. Anyways.
Even now, several years later, there is still some ridiculously relatable component of the show. The music still sounds awesome, even though I've seen the entire series seven times. The lessons still resonate, even though I know some episodes by heart. The message still makes my heart beat just a tad stronger and I feel like, not to be cheesy, everything is going to be alright. I still hurt when the characters hurt and I rejoice when they rejoice.
And the greatest part is that I recently started watching it with my girlfriend and now she's totally obsessed. And I'm 100% proud of that fact. Watching her experience the show for the first time reminds me of how I experienced the show when I first watched it.
Many of the articles that I've written thus far have focused on my frustrations and some struggles. Because, unfortunately, that is just real life and being an adult is kind of overwhelming sometimes.
But then we hop on the couch, deal out some cards and proceed to watch a few episodes. And we cheer them on, sing along (loudly) and immerse ourselves in a fictional world that we understand and recognize. It's us. We were both awkward, unsure teenagers and young adults. We figured stuff out a little later in life than we would've preferred. And watching these teenage characters explore their identities is something we understand, because we've been there.
And dear God, we will belt out just about every song. I catch a quick, candid 10-second snap of her sweet dance moves. We laugh at every bad joke. We cry when there is a loss or letdown. We both nod our heads when some big realization is made. Been there.
So, "Glee" is just awesome. And it touches on so many topics that resonate with so many different people. And that's kinda cool.
