Ode to... boy meets world

Chris and I finally finished watching all of the Boy Meets World seasons, which I began collecting at some point before we got married, and I definitely didn't appreciate this show nearly as much as a kid. As a television cynic, I was pleasantly surprised to realize that I agree with so many of the values it stands for.

Oh, and, yes, of course I rolled my eyes at the outdated "popular" trends in fashion of the day. I recognize it never was as witty as Friends or as engaging as Lost, but the wonderful quality I value in this series is its grasp on reality.

For instance, Boy Meets World is a show that freely allows its characters to be real people, who make real mistakes, and have to pay real consequences. It's a show that teaches that while, yes, you can do whatever you want and no one will stop you, you will also have to deal with real consequences. As I watched the series this time around, one of my favorite episodes is one where Shawn, a rebellious teenager joins a cult of teenagers that promotes the idea that anyone who makes any judgement is intolerant, and doesn't really care for you. Shawn, a great kid, by the way, begins to distance himself from his best friends and family members because they are "judgmental." At the crux of the episode, there's this great scene where Mr. Feeny, the voice of reason in the show and the greatest teacher of all time, snaps at Shawn, letting him know that in life, it is necessary to make judgements in order to get anywhere.

Making a judgement is not the same as being judgmental. I thought that was such a fascinating concept because I have always struggled with this concept myself. Many of my best friends have made decisions that I felt were damaging to their lives: maybe it was dropping out of school, smoking pot, staying in an abusive relationship, or pushing loved ones away. I always hesitated to interject because I was always terrified of being accused of being "judgmental." Still, as I watched this episode, I learned something in a deeper way than I had ever understood it before. I learned that real friends care, and that while is it never acceptable to ridicule or humiliate, real friends make judgments, and they let their friends know they care and want them to stay out of trouble.

I love this show, because it's real. It's taught me that life is made up of real decisions, and the people who truly care are also real, and they make all the difference.