Suit up Mother Lovers! While you may still be sowing your wild oats just as the rest of the How I Met Your Mother characters seems to be settling down, let us not forget Barnacle’s sacred advice.
As the series finale on March 31 is quickly approaching, many wonder whether their copies of The Bro Code will still be relevant. Don’t be a total Schmosby; the code will live on! Maybe you’ll even find yourself in 2030 saying, “Kids, when I was younger I grew up watching Barney the purple dinosaur and his friends. Then once I became older, Barney Stinson and his friends gave me dating advice. Long story short, that’s how I met your mother.”
Hopefully your story doesn’t take almost ten years to tell as Bob Saget. But then again, that would be pretty cool. Tell your kids to be patient.
It’s no doubt the show has created a pop culture phenomenon composed of the character’s analogies and idiosyncrasies. If you find yourself yelling, “Lawyered!” in arguments with your friends, demanding the highest of fives, or making intervention banners, you might be among the TV viewer population that will suffer the greatest withdrawals when the show ends. I’m sorry.
But let’s look at some highlights from the show and some of the best advice Ted, Barney, and the rest have offered when dealing with the ups and downs of life and the turmoil that can come along the way of finding “the one”.
1. “Nothing Good Happens After 2 A.M.”- While this is also an episode title in the first season of How I Met Your Mother, it’s a pivotal moment when Ted learns a valuable lesson in a roundabout way. While attempting to make a long distance relationship work with his girlfriend Victoria, Ted answers a call from Robin at two in the morning to help test her new juicer. The call was brought on by Robin’s loneliness and vulnerability. Ted ends up visiting Robin and cheating on Victoria. While a carpe diem attitude may be admired, Ted suggests it’s best to avoid late night invitations by simply going to bed.
2. “When you get sad, stop being sad and be awesome instead.” One way to do this, as Barney’s mantra would declare is to, “Suit up!” Does this really need an explanation? When you dress nicely, you feel better about yourself. It also reflects your confidence making you a more interesting individual. It’s a bro science really and it should be the first commandment of The Bro Code.
3. “When you’re ready to have a baby, the universe will help you find the doppelgangers you’ve been looking for”-We all know Lily was a little hesitant about starting a family with Marshall, not for lack of love, but out of nerves about becoming a parent. So maybe before doubting your parenting abilities and fretting about what the future may hold, try to look for your friends in the face of a stranger. It may be the universe telling you it supports you, or it might just be fun!
4.”Mystery is much more exciting than history.”- If you’re an active participator in the instant gratification, technology-centered world we live in, it’s easy to do a Facebook creep on a potential mate. Don’t, you’ll ruin the surprise. But then again maybe a little background check on a Craigslister might ensure your safety. If you are lurking on Craigslist, I might suggest another form of online dating.
5. “It’s okay to let go.”-For those of you who are reading this and haven’t made it through until the last season of How I Met Your Mother, here’s an obvious spoiler alert. Ted doesn’t marry Robin. Though he is extremely reluctant to do so, Ted knows he must give up being in love with Robin to pursue his own divine love story.
If you’re a fan of Teddy Westside and the gang, hopefully you’ll live like there’s no tomorrow while blaring Bon Jovi as the soundtrack of your night.
This might sound like cult-like trends and behaviors to those who don’t watch the show. But if you’ve regularly stopped by MacLaren’s with the characters, you’ve empathized with Ted’s heartbreaks, accepted challenges with Barney, secretly wanted a relationship like Lily and Marshall’s, and like Robin, you’ve held out for your true career calling.
So take some advice. Their TV story may be ending, but your life is just beginning. “Haaaaaave you met it?”
