Growing up my sisters, parents, and I were constantly watching Disney Channel. Watching shows like The Suite Life of Zach and Cody, Wizards of Waverly Place, Lizzie McGuirre, and in particular That’s So Raven.
That’s so Raven was personally my favorite to watch when I was younger. I would wear my That’s So Raven pajamas to watch the show, jam out to the theme song every time, and I just remember admiring Raven’s attitude, honesty, and confidence! That show was such a huge part and a heavy influence on my life growing up. For those who don’t know, the show stars Raven Baxter, who is a young African-American psychic teen. She loves her family, and her two best friends Eddie and Chelsea who are all constantly dealing with the craziness that is Raven’s psychic visions.
The show was/is pure gold, comedy, and something I am so happy I was able to watch at such a young age, but that now with Disney Plus the younger generations can watch it now and hopefully love and appreciate it as much as I did. With the emergence of Disney Plus, my family was quick to hop on that train, and as I was scrolling through, I came across the show again, clicked on it almost immediately, and have been binging ever since.
As That’s So Raven taught me and brought me so much happiness when I was younger, re-watching it has sparked those same genuine feelings. You can just feel the love from the show, and now that I am older I understand on a deeper level the lessons behind each episode.
First, I realized Raven is constantly using her visions to help others, reminding me that we have to use our gifts and talents to give back and aid others in any possible way. For example, Raven has a vision that her father’s restaurant was going to go out of business, so her, along with her two best friends and brother, did everything to help the restaurant stay in business, and they were more than successful!
Then, in another episode, Raven has a vision that the reason why she did not get a job, was because she was black. So she goes undercover, and her friend Chelsea, who is White, is able to get the hiring manager to admit that she did not hire Raven, because she was black. So, the manager is fired, and exposed for job discrimination.
When I was younger I did not understand the extremity and relevance of racism, as I do now. After watching the episode now, I was left in complete awe at how beautifully done the episode laid out. There is such diversity in the show. And it reveals how far society has come, which is shown through the friendship of Chelsea and Raven. They used the power of their friendship to tackle the hatred, and ignorant mentality of that manager. Rediscovering this show has taught me even more now, then it did when I was younger, and I really think we should all stop whatever it is we are doing to revisit our childhoods and look and the underlying message all these episodes have, because they are so meaningful. We shouldn’t leave the messages these shows taught us in our childhood, but carry them into our adulthood as well.