Revisiting Life and Love with “How I Met Your Mother”

Amidst the height of the pandemic in 2020, the fans of How I Met Your Mother was awakened because of a sudden post from Colbie Smulders’ Instagram wherein she sang her iconic Let’s Go To The Mall.

However, in this Quarantine Version, she changed the lyrics with the piano accompaniment. The song reminisces about how life felt before the pandemic when we can still go to the mall with our friends. The new version, on the other hand, encourages fans to stay inside during the course of the quarantine.

Revisiting Life and Love with How I Met Your Mother

The nostalgic post gave me an idea to rewatch the classic storytelling of how Ted Mosby, the show’s protagonist, tells his kids in the distant future about his life in New York with his friends. Of course, this includes Marshall Erikson, Lily Aldrin, Barney Stinson, and Robin Scherbatsky. Their adventures, hardships, and funny anecdotes lead to how he met the titular Mother. Watching it again from a different point-of-view in a different stage in life really puts things in a new perspective as if we say hello and catch up to an old friend.

Here are my favorite lines and lessons from the phenomenal series:

“If you’re not scared, then you’re not taking a chance. If you’re not taking a chance, then what the hell are you doing anyway?”
Ted Mosby

This is the quote I say to myself when dealing with changes. Changes are scary. However, staying the same feels scary as well. It talks not only about taking risks in love but also about taking risks in life. Yes, the next step is scary. But, it will surely help us grow into the person that we are meant to be. It helps us answer the what is in our lives, not the what ifs.

“If you have chemistry, all you need is one other thing — timing. But timing’s a b*tch.”
Robin Scherbatsky

This is the scene where Ted felt lost in his love life, discouraging him from finding the love of his life. Most of us feel that too, at our rock bottom, where we just want to throw in the towel and give up. But, life can be playful at times. It redirects us and takes us where we don’t want to go. It also makes us see what we are missing. At the end of the episode, Robin reminds Ted about himself, that he’ll believe in love again.

“Love is totally nonsensical. But, we have to keep doing it or else we’re lost, and love is dead, and humanity should just pack it in. Because love is the best thing we do.”
Ted Mosby

The very nature of being human is love. Every one of us wasn’t born full of hatred but is internally good. Love can be complicated at times and it may lead us to question ourselves. However, at the end of the day, we continue to love. The true love we show for things that are special to us gives us the inspiration and passion to live our life.

The irony of life. We do so much to plan it and to make it as perfect as we want it to be. But, in reality, life is not perfect. And, that makes life beautiful. The more we become meticulous about it, the more we tend to reroute from it. Then, in the end, we forget to live in the very moments of our life.

“If you’re looking for the word that means caring about someone beyond all rationality and wanting them to have everything they want, no matter how much it destroys you, it’s love.”
Ted Mosby

The famous monologue of Ted in the bridge talks about love and sacrifices. In this episode, he wants to give Robin something special for the wedding. But, Jeannette, an ex-girlfriend of his, blocks the way. Ted tells Jeannette, and us, that love can make us crazy, but in the end, we love. For if we gave up on loving, it will not be a genuine, true act of love. It is just a useless, pointless thing. Ultimately, we love, and in the end, that is truly what matters.

The show ended on a controversial note, making Ted [SPOILER ALERT] go back to Robin, the girl he fell in love with from the beginning of the narrative. After all, that is life. And, of course, life does not always end in the way we expect it to.