How Euphoria made me think about my teenage years

SPOILERS AHEAD.

I’ve always thought that a “great” work of art unconsciously makes you think about yourself and/or the society you live in. It’s something that moves you and almost acts like a psychologist.

This is what I experienced with Euphoria this summer.
I didn’t know what to watch, and I had heard good things about this series.
I’d watched the film “Malcolm&Marie” a few months ago (I talked about it here), and I knew that the Sam Levinson / Zendaya duo worked really well. So I went for it. And not only did I quickly like this series, but it also made me think about my life.

“Euphoria” is about teenagers, and most of them are in high school. But it really has nothing to do with series like One Tree Hill, Gossip Girl, Elite… In fact, I’d say that Euphoria is much more “realistic” and less superficial than those series.
We watch series like One Tree Hill to pass the time, but they don’t leave an impression on us once the TV is turned off. Do they?

Euphoria is definitely topical. It’s a series in which teenagers are confronted with various and heavy issues such as the search for identity, depression, drugs, sexual relationships, social media (what could be more topical than that…).
What makes this show so different from other teen shows is the representation of suffering. It seems so hard to live with and to overcome.

(And from a purely aesthetic point of view, this show is very, very beautiful).

I’m 33 years old. I graduated from high school in 2007.
I feel that my adolescence ended at the age of 20–21, although it’s probably a bit late. Most of the time, I avoid thinking about my teenage years because I know that some of the problems I face now are linked to this period. I also know that, during those years, I did things, made choices that I now totally regret.
But these things are certainly not as bad as what the teenagers in Euphoria experience.

So I try to think about my adolescence as little as possible. But as I watched Euphoria, I realised that it made me think about it unconsciously.
Of course, at first I wanted to push these thoughts away.
But I ended up accepting them.
And I did so because Euphoria made me even more aware of what I did and how I behaved with my parents at that time.
Let’s be clear, I didn’t wait for this series to know that I’m ashamed of having done certain things and that if I were to relive my teenage years, there are many things I would change.

But this series took me back in time in a very subtle way, and I understood even better what I did. It gave me flashbacks, and these flashbacks almost made me cry.
In Euphoria, Rue Bennett (played by the awesome Zendaya) destroys herself with drugs. In fact, we soon find out that Rue’s just overdosed. Fortunately, she survived, went into rehab, and now she’s back home.
But what has happened and what might happen in the future if she continues to do drugs obviously make her mother and sister very sad and nervous. They care so much about her and are afraid of losing her.
From the very first episodes, we understand that Rue’s been diagnosed with a mental disorder and that there’s a deep malaise in her. Taking drugs is a way for her to cope with her mental issues. Obviously, it’s not a solution. But even after her overdose, she still wants to do drugs.

As I said, what I did was not as bad as that. I’ve never done drugs, I’ve never had problems as big as the character, and I’ve never been hurt. But because of the mistakes I made, my parents stopped trusting me for a while.
I’m going to be honest, I didn’t realise the importance of that at the time.
I really didn’t like myself. I did whatever I wanted to do without caring about other people’s opinions because I was selfish. I didn’t understand (or didn’t want to understand) that my parents loved me and cared about me.
So yeah, when this series took me back to that period, it was hard, but, at the same time, the realisation was more than beneficial. Because I definitely understood how my parents felt and who I was at that time.

I know I will never be able to go back. I’ll never be able to change what happened, the harm I did to myself and to my parents. But luckily, growing up has helped me a lot, and I think I‘ve become a better person. Now I know and see how much my parents love me and care about me. And I hope they know that I love and care about them too. And that they can trust me.
Still, I’m glad that a show like Euphoria exists, because it’s a great representation of the pain that some teenagers go through. Not only the teenagers of our time, but also the ones before, and unfortunately probably the ones of future generations. It also shows really well that teenagers aren’t alone, that they’re loved, and that their actions have (and probably will have) consequences for them and for the people who care about them. For some reason, it could be an educational tool.

Yet, it’s not the kind of show that should be watched by all teenagers: many scenes are far too difficult to watch, far too disturbing, and many people shouldn’t watch them. And many scenes could also be seen from the wrong angle, if you know what I mean.

Also, the characters aren’t role models at all.
If you’re a teenager, and you’re watching this series, you mustn’t think
“Yes, from now on, I’m gonna be like them”.

Anyway, I want you to think about what you do, who you are and above all, I want you to be kind to yourself. You’re loved. You’re cared about.

Don’t do things you’ll regret.