LOST

Okay, it would be impossible for me to have a blog without talking about a television show or two. I'm kinda addicted. Anyway, since Lost wrapped up the season last week, I have been reflecting on how that show in particular has been kind of a defining thing for me in the same way M*A*S*H or Buffy the Vampire Slayer have been for others.

First off, I should qualify that I am not a super-fan that sits around theorizing and analyzing screencaps and stuff. And, honestly, there have been times when I haven't even LIKED the show. From the very first episode, I have had something of a love/hate relationship with it - yes, that first show was awesome and creepy and mysterious. But it also featured, complete with shaky camerawork, a group of people going through a plane crash, which totally gave me the sweats and shakes - I had gone through a bad car accident the year before and that scene brought on a bout of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

But the show featured people who had lost their way, and that is exactly where I was at the time. I was working on a PhD but I had become totally disillusioned with the process - I was doing crazy amounts of work to try to establish myself in a career I no longer wanted (work 70 hour weeks at a university with a "publish or perish" mentality? spend my days running statistics with complicated software programs? didn't I get into the field of communication because I, you know, enjoyed communicating with people?). I had also recently gone through a horrible, painful break-up, and I was trying to move forward with my life while secretly terrified that my last chance was gone and I was going to end up a spinster type, crocheting and doing crosswords and DYING ALONE. So maybe you can see why the journey of these messed up people who got thrown into a situation they couldn't see their way out of resonated with me. Their one step forward, two steps back story exactly mirrored mine.

But fortunately, life got a lot better for me. I got my dream job - back at my old alma mater, Oral Roberts University. Despite its flaws, it is a school that understands that the most important job of higher ed is to teach students, and I love being in an environment that honors teaching, not just publications. I have great students and great co-workers, and I just generally like going to work, which I know is a rare and precious thing. After a few more mis-steps, I found a great, funny, sweet guy who loves me as much as I love him. And I married him. And we had a kid. So, yeah, that turned out really well for me. And each week, when I watch Lost, I see characters that are getting closer and closer to finding what I have. I want desperately for them to succeed; to get to the place that I have.

And, aside from all my metaphorical musings, Lost gave me the single best experience I have had in my life as a television viewer. And it came because I broke the rules, which seems fitting. Two years ago, a day before the season finale, I was surfing the net before I got ready to go to bed, and for some reason, I clicked on a link that spoiled the big ending - the flash-forward revelation that Jack & Kate had made it back. I couldn't BELIEVE it! I literally could not fall asleep that night - my brain was all racing with what it meant and how it could happen and where would the story go next. I've had that level of excitement and happiness with books before, but never with a TV show. It was kinda great.

So, LOST - this is my tribute to you.