Why You Should Watch “How I Met Your Mother”

I’m incredibly aware of how annoying people can be talking about HIMYM and constantly quoting different episodes…but, you know what?  This television show is truly the best sitcom that ever aired, and here’s why:

1) Ted Mosby
Theodore Evelyn Mosby is not only an adorable, quirky romantic who just can’t seem to find the right girl.  He’s also someone to look towards for encouragement.  The thing I love the most about HIMYM is how absolutely real the episodes can make you feel.  Ted goes through HELL to find his happy ending.  He gets beat up by goat, he gets left at the alter, his favorite (and most hideous) pair of red cowboy boots get set on fire and flung out a two story window.  He struggles for years to finally get recognized as an architect, only to find out that his real passion is teaching.  The obstacles that Ted Mosby has to go through are funny and well-written, but also very relatable.  No matter how bad it gets for him, he ends up happy..and that is something we should keep in mind when we think that things could only get worse.

2) Relatable Characters
Ted is not the only character that one can relate with.  The beautiful thing about HIMYM is that all of the characters probably reflect a tiny piece of yourself that you may or may not always notice.  For example, I relate to Robin‘s restlessness.  She does want to find love, but she always puts herself and her job and her travels before any man she meets, even if they could be a perfect match (cough, Ted).


I relate to the carelessness of Barney which is deep seeded in his abandonment by his father.  *daddy issues*


I relate to Lily‘s constant dream quest. She loves teaching kindergarten, but she always has that head cannon to one day be an artist.  Her determination is actually very admirable, because after everything she and Marshall go through, she gets to move to Rome and be an art consultant for a year.  This is a trait we should all hold to forever.  Never lose your will to do what you love. (Watch season 6, episode 3  “Unfinished” when you’re feeling discouraged about your goals.  It’s my absolute favorite).


Lastly, I relate to Marshall‘s heart.  He is very family oriented and shows it in his relationship with his father and also with Lily.  He underlines the importance of complete love and family bonds.  He also sings everything he does which I catch myself doing as well.

3)Life Lessons
If I could meet the writers of this show, I’d probably cry because they have influenced me so much, but I’d also applaud them akwardly by myself.  HIMYM is more than a hilarious sitcom of 5 friends living in NYC.  It has some serious life lessons embedded. I’ll list a few that I think stand out.


“Nothing good happens after 2 a.m.” 
seriously, just go to bed.


“Never invite an ex to a wedding.”
This shows its importance at Lily & Marshall’s wedding, and at Ted & Stella’s wedding. It also does at Barney & Robin’s wedding, because Ted tries to be a romantic with Robin, yet again, and gets into a huge fight with Barney.  Yikes.

The Murtaugh list is bull shit
In season 4, Barney want’s to toilet paper the laser tag arena because they banned him for being too rough with the kids, but Ted says he’s too old for that.  So Barney is all, “challenge accepted” and tries to do a bunch of stupid things that Ted says he’s too old for which ends up almost killing him.  However, in the end Ted points out that the Murtaugh list is stupid because you can never be “too old” and they go TP the laser tag place anyway.  Basically, the moral of this is to keep doing childish things if it feels right to you.  Release your inner kid.


Long distance relationships are “just awful”
Ted says this when he’s talking about Victoria moving to Germany.  He ended up cheating on her because he could barely remember what Victoria looked like and they rarely talked.  Honestly though, I know first hand that they really don’t work like 90% of the time, so I definitely agree with Ted.
It’s important to laugh at yourself
Robin is the poster child for embarrassing moments.  She was Robin Sparkles, for crying out loud…even though I actually love her songs, but that’s another story.  Anyway, there’s an episode where Robin’s coworker, Sandy Rivers, shows everyone all of her embarrassing videos.  She has a lot, too.  She spent so much time trying to figure out how to get revenge, but Ted tells her to just laugh along with them.  When she finally does that, she was so relieved.
Everyone has embarrassing stories.  We’re stupid, silly humans.  You can’t hide them forever, so you may as well laugh about them.


Finding love takes patience
Not everyone will find a Lily and Marshall relationship, and that’s okay.  Heck, some people may not even be cut out for love, like Barney.  The biggest life lesson in HIMYM is to never be discouraged if your life doesn’t turn out like the movies.  Everyone is dealt a different hand and as long as you truly know yourself and what you want want, you’ll find happiness in the end.
“I think for the most part, if you’re really honest with yourself about what you want out of life, life gives it to you.”


I could go on for hours about why I love HIMYM, but I won’t do that.  However, now when you’re like “why are people so obsessed with this tv show” you’ll understand my reasoning and maybe you’ll watch it to feel better as well.  Trust me, it works.

Published by

Zoë Cardinal

Core Values: Positivity, Dedication, Education & Growth A language nerd with a passion for learning, I aspire to live each day to its ultimate good. I'm consistently in search of ways to become a better person and world citizen, by being of service to others and practicing self-care. I'm currently a middle school teacher in Brooklyn, NYC. Before moving to the city, I studied French, Sociology and Linguistics. I'm blessed to have spent a year in the south of France and a year in Ireland during my studies. I'm sober. I'm queer. I believe I'm on this earth to learn as much as possible and inspire others to do the same!

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