As a senior, it is hard to face the fact that I won’t be coming back to Notre Dame in the fall. The last four years have been … blah, blah, blah; feels, feels, feels. Much more importantly, “How I Met Your Mother” (HIMYM) is ending, and I simply can’t believe it. Watching HIMYM has been one of the most unique and rewarding experiences of my life. I have been watching television for about as long as I can remember, but only started watching HIMYM in the last few years and didn’t know exactly what to expect at first. My HIMYM experience started like my experience with other shows, by which I mean my family was there with me for the decision to watch HIMYM. My mom would probably rather I had started watching “The Office” because it is a bit closer to home, but she had wanted to start watching HIMYM herself, so she was supportive of my choice. When I started watching HIMYM, however, I was on my own for the first time. I had some concerns the comedy might be a bit too highbrow, but for every Dante Alighieri quote in the original medieval Italian or Walt Whitman witticism, there are a plethora of Zamboni jokes. I also had to adjust to the drinking ⎯ so much drinking ⎯ and the obsession some characters showed with sex and one-night stands. In the end though, I found I could appreciate it while striking my own unique balance of appreciation for those topics. I feel that I have learned a lot of life lessons watching HIMYM and have come to know who I am as a person ⎯ which is basically Marshall Eriksen. I have laughed; I have cried; I have had difficult times, and I have had light-hearted times watching HIMYM. I think it has played a huge role in making me the person I am today, and, if I went back, I would not choose a different show for anything in the world. For those who are starting to watch HIMYM as I am set to finish, my words of wisdom are that you get out of watching HIMYM what you put into it. That means the more you study the running gags and pick up the various clues about the mother, the more you will appreciate watching and the more prepared you will be for bringing those skills to other shows in the future. At the same time, it also means the more you share the experience of watching HIMYM with others and occasionally let yourself binge watch episodes late into the night, the more legendary memories you will make. I know I’ll have new and exciting things after HIMYM ⎯ I’ve been preparing to make USA’s “Suits” my new favorite series, so that the law can provide me with entertainment in the future ⎯ but it’s still difficult to accept that there won’t be any new HIMYM. I’ll be able to catch reruns, but inevitably these characters won’t have the same presence in my life, and I won’t know about their future lives the way I know about their present. I’m really going to miss HIMYM when it’s finally , wait for it, over.
