In case the Wednesday nights of your summer did not consist of screaming at a TV screen whilst defending characters in a fictional love triangle, then let me fill you in… The Summer I Turned Pretty, a show written and directed by genius Jenny Han, is a well, let me just say, heated and sometimes rather toxic series. And by toxic, I mean for my personal mental health and for my dear friend Conrad Fischers. The series consists of a girl named Isabel (Belly) Conklin, “turning pretty” one summer, and returning to the beach house she goes to every summer. The beach house is owned by Belly’s mom’s best friend, Susanah, who has two children, Jeremiah and Conrad. To get to the point, Belly creates a messy love triangle for herself with these two boys, and we see her choosing both of them, then neither of them, and then ultimately choosing Conrad (which is the right choice).
If you haven’t already watched the series, I suggest you pause here and begin your binge-watching. Joking! Of course. But this might be a bit hard for you to follow. My focus here is on the lessons and emotions this show taught me. Because I think I went through just about every emotion while watching it. Whether it was battling my strong dislike for Jeremiah, questioning why Belly made any of the choices she did, or rooting for a yearning Conrad, I surely felt all the feels. When watching, I frequently reminded myself, “this is fictional.” And not to sound cliché, but I do think there are many valuable lessons that one can take from the show. With that being said, here are a few things I took with me after overanalyzing this TV show…
- Be true to yourself. Belly stayed true to her feelings for the majority of her life and then prioritized Jeremiah’s feelings over her own. The shift you see in Conrad’s ability to prioritize himself, in my opinion, is major character development. And while Belly and Conrad might have both hurt Jeremiah in the end, they ultimately were true to their feelings. This served as a reminder that you can’t live as someone’s “backup plan.” You deserve to be the main character in your story.
- Never settle for less. I know I sound like a hardcore Jeremiah hater, and while I am not his biggest fan, I do think he is a good person. But when Belly chose him, she definitely settled for less. After Conrad and Belly broke up, he did not go as far as looking at another woman for 5 years, being that he was still in love with Belly. On the other hand, Jeremiah did not even wait until he was out of his relationship with Belly to be with someone else for a night. After being cheated on by Jere, Belly still went back to him and even became his fiancée. She settled for less than what she deserved, and even she knew it. And honestly, if the bare minimum is all you’re getting, it’s time to pack your bags and go (preferably somewhere with croissants).
- Go to Paris? I felt that I had to include this one. Belly’s time in Paris looked nothing short of amazing, and I think (I know) I need a pain au chocolat from there.
- Don’t be afraid to change your mind. I think this is a really important point, although there are definitely boundaries to what I mean. For example, Belly fought her feelings for Conrad up until her wedding day with Jeremiah. If she had just not been afraid to change her mind after Christmas, then all of this pain could have been slightly avoided. Changing your mind doesn’t make you weak; it makes you human!
While this is only a TV show, I do value the lessons I learned from it and the many emotions it conveyed. In the end, it’s about love, growth, and figuring out who you really are. And if nothing else, I learned that sometimes it’s okay to scream at your TV, root for fictional characters, and remember that “turning pretty” is really just turning into yourself. Plus, with The Summer I turned Pretty movie being made, I can feel my future self prepping for another round of emotional damage, but hey, that’s the price of being invested. And yes…Team Conrad always!!!