i never could quite relate to shows about teenagers. my teenage years were so detached from everyone elses that whenever i watch skins or euphoria its like im watching from a window looking onto all these people which just wasn’t me. thats not a bad thing at all everybody deserves shows of their childhood to be able to see their reflection in some way or another, so i presumed that wasn’t going to come. this show is in its own way deeply cathartic to watch, it reopened old wounds when i was called similar names to “ugis” and being completely humiliated during a kissing scene in theatre class. it hurt at the time but somehow this show brought to light how it is okay to laugh at this, its okay to cringe and its okay to have moments which makes me want to hide behind my chair in embarrassment at the mere thought of. this show in a way has made me re-evaluate my own experience in a somewhat more positive light which i never quite thought i would have the closure to do. the episodes in this show range from hilarity to complete emotional devastation something ranging from that within the very same episode at times yet it never quite feels like tonal whiplash instead even within the over the top concept and wacky antics it feels real. all of it really reflects middle school life even within the most bizarre and thats what makes this special i think. this has so much clarity to it so much nuance something which can only be gained with complete passion towards the characters which every single one feel like real kids. even the smaller characters the one episodes characters, i could see them at my middle school while i was growing up and in a way i was all those kids on different days. it is all just so special and words cant describe how much this show has meant to me. i think the highest praise i could give is that now i don’t hate middle school: yes its cringe worthy, its traumatic in places, its lonely and weird but it made me myself and im proud of who i was then and who i am now because of that.