Heartstopper

 So, I just discovered the Netflix series Heartstopper (based on the graphic novel of the same name), and I’m obsessed. Spoiler alert: it’s the cutest young adult LGBTQ+ romance show you will ever see. 

Seeing a show like this is always a double-edged sword for me - on one hand it’s so incredibly cathartic to see a show with such great visibility and representation especially for future queer generations so they won’t have to have so much pain in finding their identity. On the other hand, it makes me deeply sad for myself and others like me who didn’t have shows like this growing up and had to feel so utterly alone (if only I had something like this growing up).

In my therapy, we call this dialectics, or as I think about it, a “both-and” instead of an “either-or”. This show is incredibly healing and moving and gives me hope for the future, and it makes me sad for the unnecessary struggle I and others had to go through because of the lack of this kind of visibility. I think it’s important to make space for both of these things and even allow them to converse and intertwine. 

It’s bittersweet (the word in itself is a dialectic to me). I think a lot of times I avoid things like these because I don’t want to feel the pain, but it’s always inextricably bound with the joy. Avoiding only makes it worse. So, I hope this encourages you (and me) to continue to embrace things that are beautiful even if they bring up a certain sadness.