The Real O'Neals wasn't a show I planned on watching. I saw an ad for it while catching up on this season of Grey's Anatomy a few weeks back (yes, I'm one of those girls). For those that haven't had the pleasure of seeing the show's ad or any of its episodes, The Real O'Neals is a comedy about an Irish Catholic family trying to figure out their lives after each member of the family reveals a personal secret, focusing primarily on the fact the O'Neal's middle child, Kenny, is gay.

Being from a family ridiculously proud of their Irish Catholic roots, I was wary about watching the show. It looked stereotypical and cliched, not to mention filled with enough cheese to make anyone lactose intolerant. But, being in the minority of the millennial generation without a Netflix account, I turned to the comedy's pilot as a source of procrastination last Tuesday night.

I definitely wasn't wrong when it came to The Real O'Neals. The ABC comedy satirically blows the life of Irish Catholics to a level of absurdity I didn't think was possible. Case and point: I don't know a single Irish Catholic that would put a statue of the Virgin Mary over their toilet. Would they put her in their front lawn? Sure, no problem. But over the toilet? That's a bit much. And I have never heard anyone say, "We can't corn-beef this" until watching this show (I do give the writers points for their use of puns). With that said, there were a few genuinely relatable moments hidden underneath all of the synthetic cheese sauce that was the rest of the show.

First of all, the matriarchal family dynamic within the O'Neal family instantly reminded me of my grandmother and the respect my entire family has for her. In Irish Catholic families, women have a lot of power. Seriously, no one messes with my grandma. She's always the first person to get family news and usually has some input in major decisions regarding the family.

Then there was the Bingo Bonanza. My church doesn't have one of these, but we do have a church picnic. My parents are no strangers to putting hours into the success of the church picnic, like Pat and Eileen O'Neal. My dad always helps with the funnel cake booth and my mom's a money counter. The chances of my brother or I actually seeing them the week leading up to or during the event are pretty slim. Investing time into any church fundraiser is just what you do and putting your all into is expected.

I also couldn't help but laugh out loud when Pat O'Neal said, "Can’t you see we’re screwing up our kids with our whole Irish Catholic not-talking-about-things?" Not that I think it's as big of a problem as the show blows it up to be, but I can definitely relate to my family avoiding certain topics of conversation to keep everyone happy.

I doubt this show will be on the air much longer and I'm totally okay with that. However, I do think it's extremely important that we learn something from it. I know quite a few people that are straight-up offended by the content of this show. Sure, it mocks Catholicism and the dynamic of families who are invested in their Irish heritage, but almost every comedy on ABC is mocking the lifestyle of a someone's culture (Black-ish and Fresh Off the Boat are just a few that come to mind). Plus, if you've ever met an actual Irish person, you would know they are some of the first people to make jokes at their own expense. So, If you can't laugh at yourself and how ridiculous your own life can be some times, I feel sorry for you. Life's too short to take every sitcom or situation in life seriously.