Midway through my twenties, I realized that although “Friends” provided me with memorable gems like “Pivot, Unagi and a Cow’s point being Moo,” it also promised me several lies.
- I haven’t had a stream of guest star love interests.
- I don’t know a single person who lives in a rent-controlled apartment.
- You actually do have to go to work to make all the money you blow at your local coffee house. And no one gets the same seat at the coffee house everyday.
- I never have time to leisurely discuss events over breakfast with my friends on the week days. Breakfast itself seems like a luxury some days.
Due to these lies, I often found my friends and I feeling like we weren’t truly living up to our twenty- something potential. Then while watching Chasing Life this Season, I realized this might be the most accurate portray of how life really is in your twenties.
1. Friends are at Different Stages
When we first met Beth, she was barista at a coffee house and April was an-up-and upcoming reporter. Now, Beth barely can put down her two cellphones. After years of being in the same place with your friends (kindergarten through college), the twenties is a this huge shock. You are the only person on the your exact path. All you can do is try to support each other like Beth and April do.
2. You might Still Live at Home.
I love that April lives at home. She lives in one of the most expensive cities in the country and, for once, the main character doesn’t have some amazing loft fresh out of college. That doesn’t happen. Instead, April shares a bathroom with her teen sister. That’s real. And when she does move into her dream apartment, we will cheer even more for her. Maybe it will be with Leo and my shipper heart will burst.
3. Your Career Matters
Yes, I adore Leo and April, but what I root for more than anything is April’s career. Since the moment April lied her way into a blood drive, she has been unapologetically career focused and it has been glorious. You spend eighteen years in school, add on some grad school and unpaid internships, devoting yourself to your chosen career. Yet, sometimes people act like your Match.com profile should be more important than your LinkedIn one. But not April and Thank God for that.
4. Your Parents are Your Friends
There’s a great scene where April and her mom settle in to watch their favorite TV show. I remember thinking, "this is your twenties." It is one of many scenes where April's second BFF, after the amazing Beth, is her mom. You think your twenties are going to be clubs and Sex and TheCity antics, but a lot of times your first call is still your Mom.
5. Life Gets Real
The premise of the show is April gets diagnosed with Cancer at twenty-four. Now, I did not get diagnosed with cancer, but I did get diagnosed with endometriosis at twenty-four. Like April, I spent that year in and out of the hospital. There is something about your twenties. It is full of surprises and sometimes they are not always great.
I am not sure there is a single decade where people are at more different stages than during their twenties. You can be single, married, divorced, have kids or even be sick. It’s so unique that it’s often not portrayed correctly. When a show like Chasing Life nails it, it should be celebrated!
The spring finale of Chasing Life airs tonight on ABC Family 9PM.
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