I first watched “How I Met Your Mother” during my junior year of high school. I was depressed, lonely, and in need of solace from my emotions. Luckily Netflix was around, so I searched through all of the listings until I saw “How I Met Your Mother” and had a middle school flashback to my seventh-grade math class.

I was talking to my teacher about “The Big Bang Theory”, which we both watched, and she always recommended that I watch a show called “How I Met Your Mother.” Flash forward to 11 pm on a weeknight and trying to ignore my thoughts of impending death and inevitable loneliness as I age, I decided to give this show a shot.

I fell in love immediately.

My favorite character, as well as the one I connect to the most, is Ted Mosby. Ted is the main protagonist and narrates the show through the perspective of future Ted telling his children how he met their mother (i.e. the name of the show). The show also generally revolves around Ted and his quest to find love as he ages, as well as the stories he acquires through the years leading up to finding “the one”.

For an unnecessarily sad and lonely teenage boy, this show was perfect. Through all nine seasons, binge watching for two weeks to finish it, and a lot of emotional roller coasters stemming from the show, I finished with a different perspective on life.

For example, I was convinced I would inevitably die alone (which we all technically do in the end) and with the help of this show, I was convinced otherwise. Ted had convinced me that finding love takes a long time, but enjoy the time in between having adventures with friends. Love will happen eventually: it is not something you can force or will to happen.

Another lesson I learned is from the character Barney Stinson, a stereotypical player and, in my opinion, the funniest character in the show. Barney taught me to never pass up an opportunity and to live in the moment because the stories and memories you have are priceless.

The characters are all saturated with moral dilemmas that the audience can learn from and laugh at as they do so. Ted’s bad streak of potential loves is both a joke and a lesson to never stop trying to meet someone. This lesson to me is the most important, seeing how love seems impossible to come across nowadays.

I would recommend to anyone that has not yet seen this show yet to watch it. It unexpectedly impacted me in a positive way, helping me come to terms with some of the things I worry about in life. The emotional toll it will take can bee too much, but the pain is worth it. It might take a while, but that’s what bingeing is for!