Most of us by now are familiar with the town Rosewood in the heart-wrenching, dramatic, plot twist of a show called "Pretty Little Liars." It’s fictional, yes, but after five seasons we could easily explain how far the Brew is from each of the girls’ houses. We know the corner of the police station like the back of our hands and we haven’t forgotten about the kissing rock in the woods or Noel Kahn’s cabin for that matter. We could walk through all five of the families’ houses with a blindfold on and we almost feel as though we graduated from Rosewood High.
The main question is, though, who is A? We all have these theories in our head but really, what makes us think we could guess the end result after the hundreds of plot twists we’ve been hit with? The frustration is real. We all want to know. We all agree it’s gone on too long, but I have to say, we are all still completely invested.
What makes this show interesting is that it is so off-the-charts-unrealistic. We can relate to bullying, yes, but I can’t say I know of a group of girls who receive mass life-threatening texts and emails. Spencer gets away with way too many sneaky situations and really, how did Ezra not go to jail for dating a student? The girl’s found out things before the police, lied, and ALWAYS got out of it. Someone continuously is in their homes and following them, and nobody seems to be able to figure out who this monster is.
While "Pretty Little Liars" is one of the most interesting plot twisting shows, it’s difficult to relate to their situations. I can say I am fully invested in each of their lives, I feel pain for them, but can I really say I know what that is like? Not all the time, but here is when we all could relate to life in Rosewood:
1. Finding Out You've Been Lied To: Unfortunately we have all been there. We've been lied to by those that we love the most, and that is exactly why it hurts so bad. This is the most common thing to happen in PLL, and quite frankly, it happens way too often in everyday life. So although we can't exactly relate to every lie that has been told, like Ali pretending to be dead, we can feel the same pain that lies leave.
2. Heartbreak: Goodness gracious, love is in the air in this show. Each girl has a dramatic plot twist to their relationship. Aria and a teacher, Hanna and Caleb's family issues, Spencer and Toby, who they once thought was A, and Emily coming out and having quite the issues with her lady friends. Each of these stories brings a new perspective into relationships, not to mention everyone else around them. You see cheating from Aria's dad, deployment from Emily's parents, hate out of Spencer's, and divorce from Hanna's. No matter your relationship struggle, at some point, you definitely found yourself feeling the same heartbreak as one of the girls.
3. The Annoyance Of School: High school can make or break you. In this dramatic series, the smallest portion is centered around them at school. They hate it and they absolutely love to ditch it. Because let's be real, often times there are far more important things on our mind then who wrote the Declaration of Independence or what the powerhouse of the cell is called.
4. Cell Phone Addiction: Can we all finally admit that we are addicted to our phones? Our generation grew up with the peak of evolving technology. We have no idea what life is like without it and it's simply just unheard of for someone not to have a cell phone these days. This show gets it. No matter where they are, they have their phone on sounds so they are ready to hear from A. To be honest, it's not that often that one girl can't be reached.
6. Protecting Your Best Friend: We all at least have one person in our life that we know we would do anything for at the drop of a hat. We would literally go as far as taking a bullet for them or simply being the first at their door with ice cream and two spoons when they are sad. It's simply that person that you couldn't image life without our seeing them hurt, disappointed, or left behind by anyone. You would want the world and more for them and you are definitely okay with going the extra mile to make sure this doesn't happen.
7. Figuring Out Ways To Cope: The girls are really strong - probably just as you and I are - they don't often show defeat to the camera. More often than not, one of them leads the pack to accept hurt and failure. When they find their own personal ways to cope with things just as we secretly do, we begin to again, feel their pain with them. It doesn't matter what we are upset about, we all can image the time we laid in bed with music going, tears rolling, and us feeling just as pathetic as we looked.
8. Being True To Yourself:Just admit it, we've been rooting for Emily since the beginning. She has a perfect vision of who she is, she has always accepted herself and pushed herself to be the best she could be in swimming, friendships, and relationships. She's a daddy's girl with a big heart and nothing can stop her. Although we may not have the confidence she does, we all can easily admit that we wish we did. Her character personality as a whole is someone we all wish we could be - so true, gentle, and determined.
9. Advice From Our Moms: No matter if we have a close relationship without mothers or not, tell them everything or tell them nothing, or absolutely can't stand them, mom's know best. They always have the perfect advice or the perfect hugs, and we often times abuse this great advice-giver right in front of us. Spencer, Hanna, Aria, and Emily don't always go to their mom's but when they do, they always seem much happier and positive about life.
10. The Idea That Coffee Solves Everything: Usually when there is a problem, the girl's meet at the known coffee shop in Rosewood, the Brew. They are constantly sipping on coffee whether it's at Spencer's counter, school mornings, or late at night to finish studying for their big exam. We all love our coffee. I can't figure out if it's our generation or simply because I am getting older, but coffee shops seem to be the prime location to meet up for a chat, solve problems, or simply for a quiet place to study.
11. Having The Best Squad There Is: Thankfully we all left high school with at least one other person that we couldn't have made it through the years without. Their friendship is exactly how any of us should wish or expect a friendship to look like. They are always there for each other, always kind, always forgiving, and we all can easily visualize our Hanna, Spencer, Aria, or Emily when we watch each new episode!
A big S/O to my best friend, Karmen Miller who has often been there for me during all of these things and more...including helping me write and create this article. I couldn't ask for a better friend in you!