Okay, let me start off by saying... I am still mourning over the fact that How I Met Your Mother has already ended. I want to say I am the biggest fan of this show but obviously, I'm not the only one. While others hated the ending, as a writer, I appreciate and admire how they wrote it and how they were able to stick to the elements since the beginning of the show.

How I Met Your Mother is one show that has made a huge impact in my life and it is one big part of it. Isn't it a weird thing to say? It's like saying that I have built my whole world around this show. Of course not, but then again, we all know deep in our hearts that most of the pain felt and experienced by the characters are real. Real, simply because those things can also happen in real life. The characters may be fictional, the setting, but somewhere deep inside me i knew that the experiences were not. Our minds refuse to acknowledge that because those painful experiences are so hard to deal with in real life but it's true, IT'S ALL REAL. For all I know, the creators and writers wrote their own personal experiences on there too. Back me up here Carter Bays, Craig Thomas and Pam Fryman. HAHA.

Anyway... let me just give you a little back story.

The show started 9 years ago, I was 16 at that time but I never heard of it since I was busy dealing with puberty and growing up plus the first boyfriend. I only started watching it when I was 22, I was bored, lost, unemployed, single and heartbroken because my lover of 6 years broke up with me. I woke up every morning feeling empty, not knowing what to feel and what to think. I would walk all day in the streets, staring into nothingness and asking myself, "what the hell am I doing?" then I stumbled on this old guy selling pirated DVDs of How I Met Your Mother. I didn't have any idea what this show was about but I told myself, "who cares what this show is? your life is over... just watch it to keep you busy." So I bought all 5 seasons not knowing it would leave a mark in my life. (yes I bought pirated DVDs, I know it's some sort of theft. Come on, I was heartbroken at that time..Just...okay?)

I went home, loaded it on the dvd player and I started watching. For the first time in what felt like ages, I laughed. I continued to watch it til I reached the 5th and last season in my hands since season 6 wasn't available at that time yet. Even though my DVD collection was still incomplete, the show helped me cope somehow. It was my ally during the darkest moments in my life, it was the cause of my happiness and the characters were too lovable that they were able to touch my heart with their stories of love and friendship, but mostly about friendship.

Writers are tricky, sometimes you don't know who these characters were based from. It could be about someone they knew in the past, about their parents, siblings or sometimes, even about themselves.. Some part of them that they cannot fully express. In this case, I would say these characters were relatable. Basically, the characters can be compared with the stages you go through or happen to you after a break up until you become emotionally mature and ready for a relationship again. Let me expound that by relating experiences to it..

Robin Scherbatsky (commitment phobe stage) - as we all know, Robin was elusive and aloof at the beginning. She wasn't into serious relationships and the moment a relationship or guy showed some potential or intention of wanting to get serious, she'd flip and unconsciously, if not, indirectly push her lover away. In other words, she was a commitment-phobe. As I mentioned earlier, I was going through a rough time after the break up. In my first year of being single... I stopped believing in love and commitments. I had no idea what I was doing, I don't know what people do when they're single. Whenever I met someone, I would entertain them out of being polite but I never wanted to commit. I did not want to love. Period.

when I feel like it's about to get serious. I disappear or do something that would eventually turn them off. Before all this I've always wondered what's up with these people who are afraid of commitments? It took me a while to realize that I have become whom I thought I would never become, a commitment phobe.


Barney Stinson (commitment phobe/player stage) - Barney, Barney, Barney. The most awesome of all the characters in the show. He had a lot of theories for dating, picking up women and getting rid of them in a snap. This is the stage where you learn how to work around your phobia of commitment but you keep pursuing the opposite sex through seduction and flirtation though you never really go any farther than that. It's the same thing as playing with fire, you know how you don't want to get burned yet you keep pouring fuel over the fire that eventually it'll get bigger and you get caught up in it! So, he had a lot of theories that I have proven to work, the "you don't call first not until after 3 days", "the hot/crazy scale", "the crazy eyes" (yes, guys have that too) or "the platinum rule" etc. They were fun especially when your prospect starts to take the bait, you tease them and make them eat on the palm of your hands. But that's all there is to it, and nothing more. I'm not saying I'm proud of it but for the purpose of proving my point, during my second year of being single... It was that stage where I went through my Barney phase. Teasing people, making them want me so bad and just when they think they can close the deal with me, I drop them like hot potato. It was fun in the beginning, it has always been about fun i kept convincing myself that every conquest was legendary but at the end of the day, just like Barney... I always went home alone and the games still didn't change the fact that I was... Wait for it.... sad and lonely. Sad because I had no one to love and lonely because nobody loved me back.

Ted Mosby (hopeless romantic phase) - Ted was the most romantic of them all, his head was always over the clouds thinking of the next best thing that he could do to sweep his special someone off her feet. He was the natural lover and he was always eager to commit to every girl he fell in love with only to get his heart broken at the end. My Ted phase came in the third year of me being single. I already told myself... "I am tired of all the games, I was born a lover not a player (although I think it was naturally in my blood. anyway!), I finally found the courage to admit to myself, it's time to find someone to love.. So I joined this dating site online, I've met a lot of  westerners who had the potential "physically" but attitude, personality and intelligence wise... They never impressed me. I was eager to offer my commitment, but unlike Ted, I don't easily jump the gun... I think first and think hard til I asked myself, maybe I just think "I'm ready" but I'm not. Tho am I? really?

I took a little break from all that crap, I did a reevaluation and a took a good hard look at myself, my goals and my priorities. I had to get them all in line because I wanted to know for sure that before I throw myself back out there, I was ready and I wasn't just desperate like Ted. (Sorry, Ted.) The dating world is cruel, there are sharks, crocodiles, other dangerous things that will eat you alive without hesitation. So any form of weakness or even a tiny sign of uncertainty is not encouraged! I had to mentally and emotionally prepare myself of the things that I wanted and whether or not I was ready for it. Which leads us to... the second to the last stage.

Tracy, the mother (emotionally/mentally mature and ready phase) - You know how the mother came to be the perfect woman for Ted? But before that, who was she? was she always single? of course not. She also had her heartbroken when the love of her life died. It took her a while to get back into the dating world. By the time she did, she was a woman of substance, one that you can't just mess around with because she knows what she wants. I could relate to her because we were both the kind of women who was too old for games and too smart for players. There were vultures who tried to take a stab but never succeeded, there were some good guys but there was no spark...  And just when we thought that it's already impossible to find a guy who would be a good fit for us, impossible because that one guy we thought was the jackpot prize already passed, impossible because that one guy whom we thought was the only winning lottery ticket we'll ever have was gone and we're never gonna win again... fate proved us wrong and made us meet our Ted. It is true that when you're about to give up, that's when the miracle happens.

How I Met Your Mother has provided us with great stories of loyalty, friendship, some life lessons and a lot of laughs. We all laughed with the gang, got pissed, and cried with them too but of all the seasons that have come and gone... Season 9 is by far the most emotional of all the seasons that I've watched. Partly because I'm aware that I have to say goodbye to it very very soon. You can also feel that with every episode the creators have made, they've put a lot of effort and heart into it. I commend them for lasting almost a decade and for choosing a set of talented actors to play the characters. I wasn't impressed with their choice for the woman who'd play as The Mother, but eventually I had my "oops!" moment because she was charming after all. Most especially when I heard her sing La Vi En Rose. Oh my God! it was so beautiful that I couldn't help but cry. You could feel her emotion and wow that voice! (Heart eyes right here) Just watch the video I attached so you'll understand what I'm talking about.

Many people didn't like the ending, but in my opinion, it was quite impressive. It was the kind of ending that you somehow expect knowing Ted but still you hope it would never occur and yet it still does, kinda like what really happens in real life. I was hoping that he didn't end up with Robin because she doesn't deserve him but when it did happen, I kinda understand Ted too. It was an ending that's poetic, romantic and also tragic all at the same time. I still cry every time I replay the Finale. I loved it even if I don't agree with how things went. Oh wait... I still haven't mentioned the last stage, Marshall and Lily.

Marshall and Lily (All is right in the world because you're in love stage) - Marshall and Lily were undeniably the best couple ever. They had their ups and downs, they broke up and got back together but it was remarkable how they handled their problems and even when things went crappy for them, letting go of each other was never an option. Right after the moment I found my Ted, everything fell into the right places. Indeed, all was right in the world despite the inevitable problems or fights. He was my Ted and I may be his Tracy but together we are Marshall and Lily.
Marshall and Lily were meant for each other. I, on the other hand, I believe I am with the person whom I am meant to be with for the rest of my life. Though we never know for sure who's the person we're going to end up with and who THE ONE really is. We fall in love now and we badly want that person to be THE ONE forever. It's unpredictable but when it's right, you just know without really understanding what hit you, you make things work with that person no matter what because...

"when you find someone you want to keep around, you do something about it." -Ted Mosby

This is to the one and only love of my life.. Thank you for being my inspiration. I love you, Chris! ❤❤❤