What I Learned From "How I Met Your Mother"

Tonight, what is undoubtedly one of my favorite television shows will go off the air, and Ted Mosby will finally finish telling the story of how he met the mother of his children.

I find myself getting emotional over the fact that How I Met Your Mother will no longer make my Mondays significantly better...probably more emotional than anyone should be over a television. This isn't the first time I've said goodbye to a television show. I've watched old favorites like Chuck, The Office, and 30 Rock go off the air in recent years, but none of them had me holding back tears a week before the finale aired.

Then I think…How I Met Your Mother is more than a show to me. It's been a guide, a teacher. While the writers have jumped rope with the suspension of disbelief from time to time (This whole season took place over the course of one weekend), so much of the themes and stories are rooted in truth. Truth about life, about love, and about friendship. I think that's what makes the connection between How I Met Your Mother and its fan base so deep. You're able to draw parallels between the lives of the characters and your own.

Things that you didn't think were things, like The Mermaid Theory, The International Date Line, and Graduation Goggles, suddenly become….well, things. Now society knows what it means to "suit up" or be "lawyered". Friends now wish each other a Happy Slapsgiving, or  Happy Desperation Day, and everyone abides by some form of The Bro Code. Thanks to all these clever little gags and stories, we now have a sort of "guide to life". How I Met Your Mother has become so synonymous with pop culture, it's practically just culture at this point.

But through all that, every chapter of the story of Ted and his friends have the central theme of friendship, love, and life at its core.

As crazy as it sounds, I think I've learned quite a bit from How I Met Your Mother. Just what have I learned from How I Met Your Mother? Well…

               There's a lot of power in the words "I love you", and that's both a good thing....

and a bad thing...

                       Things always work out in the end, it just takes some time to get to the end.

When you love someone, you never stop loving them. A part of your heart, no matter how small, will always belong to them.

Every moment you have with a person you love is a gift…

…so precious, it can be taken away in the blink of an eye,

and keeping the people you love a part of your life takes sincere effort.

Live every moment to the fullest, because every moment will soon be a memory.

Our stories, our memories, hold us back as much as they push us forward.

Every person you meet in this life, plays a part in your story.

Whatever you do in this life, it isn't legendary unless your friends are there to see it.

and everyone has a girl with a yellow umbrella (or a guy with red cowboy boots), somewhere out there waiting for them.

How I Met Your Mother is a major part of my life. I've had my actions often classified as "Classic Schmosby", and I've been "lawyered" more times than I can count. When friends need me, they often call upon me with the words, "Bar. Now." 

Most of my best friends watch How I Met Your Mother. Over 60 of my friends on Facebook like the show's Facebook page. Since I started becoming a regular viewer back in Season 5, I don't think there's been one episode where I haven't talked, texted, instant messaged, or tweeted with someone about an episode either while it was airing or the morning after it aired. While we may lose touch for a few days, or even a week, we always manage to remember to talk How I Met Your Mother.

I think that just goes to show the true power a television show can have on people. It keeps people together. It strengthens the bonds between them. People become equally captivated in a world of fiction, and together we become emotionally invested in the characters that we see every week on our television screens, so much that when an episode airs, it's like welcoming an old friend into our home.

How I Met Your Mother has done so much for its fan base through its story, and through its very existence. I will miss the slap bets, the ducky ties, and the red cowboys boots of it all dearly. Thank you  How I Met Your Mother, for all you've done. It's been legendary.