An Experience

What are we looking for ?

A flash of excitement, a peak of passion and raw nerves, a nervous climax; I think it's true when I say that everyone wants to experience life as much as they can. We may all not agree on a universal definition of life; some choose a life of servitude and commitment, whilst others prefer a life of wild passion and endless possibilities, however the premise of doing anything is more or less the same, we're all looking for something that can define our lives, making it stand out to everyone else.

During this winter break, I decided to kick back from my diet of escapades, bus hopping and random photo ops in an attempt to be a "potato" for once and grow roots inside the house. So far, 3 days of winter break has gone by and the results are coming along just dandy.

Travelling takes its toll on you; it leaves you with more questions than answers, each one more difficult than the last; it leaves a stain imprinted on the back of your head always reminding you of the past and at the same time, pertinently asking you questions about present and future.

So in an attempt to engross myself in a world other than summations and object oriented programming, I decided to make use of my 1 month free subscription on Netflix and finish up Freaks and Geeks. I don't exactly remember why I started watching the show, probably because of the title and perhaps a few flashbacks from high school convinced me that it'd be a good watch. In hindsight, it was probably one of the best decisions I made as a 20 year old.

See anyone you know ? 

The series centers around the life of Lindsay Weir and her circle of family and friends. To put it aptly, Freaks and Geeks is Lizzie McGuire: Mature Edition. Not to imply that it's too hormonally charged or gossip girlish in nature but it treads the line very well between drama and realism. The show perfectly captures the essence of teen hood and the emotions that run through naive and idealistic teenagers in a critical period of their lives.The epitome of it all is Lindsay Weir herself.

Imperfection and Perfection Personified

There's just something I like about Lindsay Weir and her character. She's as smart as they come; a Mathlete and one of the brightest students in McKinley High. She's blessed with an innate nature for wit and articulation.Very much those girls that you wouldn't be surprised had they ended up becoming lawyers or economists that graduated 4.0 from an Ivy League University. Confident, but not too confident; A Machiavelli that loves her family and friends to bits;  She questions everyone and everything in her way. Highly experimental and isn't afraid to get her head deep into anything.


Lindsay is a breath of fresh air compared to most of the female TV/ Movie characters today (other than Juno MacGuff). She displays mannerisms and tendencies more realistic to most girls today. The series was such a hit because it portrayed the normal yet realistic story of a girl trying to find her place in a society of robots tailor made by societal expectations and ideals ("Not everyone has a smothering vampire boyfriend you know").In the end of the day, pretty much any boy or girl just wants to find a place where they "fit" in. For some "fitting in" requires a bit more time than others; in Lindsay's case she lost some joy in hers and decided to experiment by getting to know people outside of her own little world. In some aspects, I could relate to that during my high school years. I really couldn't find someone who I could genuinely stand up and say " we're two peas in a pod" (pardon the fakakte, couldn't think of any other phrase), hence my repeated (and somewhat failed) attempts at trying to find a circle to join in. Little to my surprise, I only burned a hole in my wallet and pretty much ended the same place  where I started. But I guess in the end the effort was worth the money, it gave me a basic idea of who or what type of people who I like to be around with and the most important lesson of all, "You don't have to be anyone else other than yourself". Eventually, if you do it long enough people will come to you.

Another thing that makes her character so real is her unpredictability. You'd think for a girl as smart as her, she wouldn't mingle with the wrong crowd and do the wrong things. But the show does a good job of portraying the exact opposite (very typical) with a very real and honest view of it all (very atypical). It's clear that she knows she's doing something blatantly wrong but in the end, if any of us were as confused,apathetic and naive as Lindsay, what's the point of being of being so worried. Honestly, why shouldn't you do that ? Are we afraid of the repercussions or are we afraid that we  hold to believe is not exactly true ? Lindsay is an experience junkie out of curiosity than out of anything else. To her, everything is just an opportunity to feel differently, to see things in a different light. Hopefully from the experiences, she might attain some sort of clarity that will help her in defining who she is. I was expecting that by the end of the season, Lindsay discovers who she really is in the face of stereotyping and societal expectations but by the end, the audience is left with more questions than answers which I thought succinctly sums up teen hood, the idea that even though reaching adulthood requires you to grow past teen hood, you will never quite attain that adulthood for what you thought it was.

The take home message of it all : We're all on a journey and there's no exact path to get there, only an idea of where we all wanna be at the end of it.


Have a good break everyone !

Btw, if anyone is interested in watching the series, they have all 18 episodes on Youtube. Just search em