The shows we have grown up with have influenced us to become who we are. Kids grow up watching shows on PBS Kids or Disney. Slowly throughout the decades, children have become more accustomed to watching and technology in general. For our generation, it was the start of the use of more technology. As we grew up there were set shows that we watched. For me, it was Wild Kratts, Arthur, and Hannah Montana. Growing up the shows changed from “children” shows to “adult” shows. I am going to show you a few of my favorites throughout my lifetime, the 10/10 in my book.

Winx

The idea of Winx is that this girl who lived in the human world and found out she had magical powers with this knowledge ends up going to Alfea, a school for fairies. What interested me was the way she ended up in this dorm filled with all the people who ended up being her best friends. The idea of having 2 separate worlds one that is home and the other being a home filled with friends seemed like a miracle for a 9 year old who only lived at home. 1 whole world where you could call your own, where you are the main character, somewhere secret that no one could steal. Although just to let you know the Winx I am talking about is the animated version, not the one that came out in 20001

Grey’s Anatomy

This show was the perfect blend of medical and outside drama. To me the rush of the hospital scenes that contrasted with the life Meredith had outside from the people she dated to her best friends was perfect. I loved how all the characters from Meredith’s class had rushed around the hospital trying to find all that they could do to cure their patients. She managed to still live her life throughout all the years of internship, residency, and being an attending. The amount of love-life drama that she went through with Derek could probably last 4 lifetimes. (SPOILER IF NOT WATCHED I lost it when he died because they couldn’t take a CT and the neurosurgeon wouldn’t get to the surgery because he had dinner). Watching that rush of the hospital gave me the perfect amount of stress about whether they could help their patients before they died. Ending it with love-life drama from one of the characters was a great way to keep thinking about what happens next. The show always ends up being the perfect way to end a boring day of studying at school.

Scandal

Truth be told, I haven’t completely watched all 7 seasons, although I am 3 seasons deep. Honestly, this show just makes me mad whenever the president is around. Both Fitz and Olivia Pope love each other so much, and go back to each other every single time it gets annoying. Even as Olivia has Jake by her side she would still rather be with Fitz. However, he will never get a divorce because he has to worry about public backlash from his cheating on his wife that could cost him the presidency and impeachment. Olivia is also amazing at her job which might be one of the main reasons why I love this show. It displays moments where she defends her clients in a type of way that can bring you into a state of shock. Learning each of the character’s backstories, with Huck being the saddest, is so interesting to me. Since somehow in one way or another Olivia has something to do with it.

18 Again

If I ever want to cry this is the show I will watch. 18 Again is about a couple that is 37 and on the verge of getting a divorce. They had twins when they were 18, and one day the husband decided to go to his old high school and throw a basketball. He wishes that he could go back to 18 and be a bbasketball player, before the kids and the marriage. He ends up in the same year as an 18-year-old who ends up befriending his children. As the children tell about their dad who works a lot and doesn’t get to see him. I have probably seen this show 10 times by now and every time without fail it makes me cry. With its glimpse back to the hardships it was for the both of them trying to raise their kids as a teen. The thought of having that responsibility in taking care of a child as you are still a child to the world who still has a lot to learn is so jaw-dropping to me. The way the kids talk about their dad as they feel like their parents’ lives ended the second they gave birth to them was so heartbreaking to hear. Their thoughts of not doing something they love just for not wanting to be a disappointment to him. Every scene when they talk about their parents and what they have done for them made me rethink every memory of my parents.

Although these are not all of the shows that I love. They are a few favorites that I could watch over and over again. Either just for nostalgia or a moment where I need to cry. They all tell me so much about a topic that the show is trying to say.

I woke up staring at my bedroom ceiling while I was screaming my head off to a dream I don’t remember. It was dark and cold in my room, even with my 2 blankets wrapped around me. I rushed to get up and run into my older brother’s room. I ran and hugged him as I always did when I had a nightmare. But this time he was awake, he asked me “What’s wrong” I told him about how I had a nightmare. What I was used to happening every time I had a nightmare was sleeping in the same bed as him. Although today wasn’t normal, my parents who normally worked until 9 and got home at 10 had to stay late. The snow wasn’t helping either to get home quicker. We were used to staying at home alone, it was something we always did. But everyday we would go to sleep with our parents in the next room. Today was the outlier and because it was it had created a rift in our schedule. As I went to sit in his warm bed I was instantly comforted by the difference. That warm feeling when you know whoever has left or came into your life, that person will always be there no matter what. As I stared at the giant cars pillow behind me I was broken out of my trance of staring at the eyes of the cars. As he told me to go and pick up a book from the shelf outside. I picked The Very Hungry Caterpillar, my favorite book in the whole world at that time. We sat together as we turned to the first page. Crumpled with all of the times my hands turned the page. My brother started off the book like every other time we read together. “In the light of the moon a little egg lay on the leaf” and ofcourse the next page was mine as I sounded out the long word caterpillar in my stuttering voice while my brother just listened.”One sunday morning the warm sun…”

My brother was the reason for my love of reading, to me loving reading was a way to show my appreciation to him. We are 4 years apart so the idea of a 10 year old wanting to be with a 6 year old when their friends are right there is not always positive. Reading to him has always been something difficult that he never seemed to grasp. Although that would never turn him away from reading to me. The idea of reading to me seemed less and less appealing as I went to school. I was said to be “advanced” at reading, at school it was something I was proud of. The way my parents and teachers praised me for having given it a new meaning at school. Though the second I got home it was wanted. I had always wanted to keep academic and home life separate as a child. If I was praised at school the idea of telling my family chipped me away. It wasn’t that I was not proud of it but going home and telling my family when I would see my brother struggling was something I enjoyed doing. It ended up being a type of punishment to myself at home. 

Slowly as the fascination of reading dwindled at home, so did the one at school. Reading wasn’t fun at school like it used to be. There were no story times or books that you could pick out anymore. I started only reading the books that were said to be in the curriculum of the class. My vision on reading turned from fun, exciting to a type of restrictive manner. It ended up feeling like a chore at the end of the day. Something you would do just to get it over with. 

To this day the feeling that reading gives me isn’t always like what it did as a kid. That will probably never reset back to that original position. Although there are times when I will be fixated on one book and finish it in one day. When that happens I think of younger me and how she would have loved it if I stayed like that. In the moment of happiness.