Sing with me!
“You take the good, you take the bad,
you take them both and there you have
The facts of life, the facts of life.
There’s a time you got to go and show
You’re growin’ now you know about
The facts of life, the facts of life.
When the world never seems
to be livin’ up to your dreams
And suddenly you’re finding out
the facts of life are all about you, you.
It takes a lot to get ’em right
When you’re learning the facts of life. (learning the facts of life)
Learning the facts of life (learning the facts of life)
Learning the facts of life.”
Wasn’t that fun?!
Adolescent girls growing up in the ’80s didn’t have many options like today to view sitcoms that featured teenaged girls, and there certainly weren’t many young African American actresses (shout out to trailblazer Kim Fields!). It was a special show. Now fast forward to December 2021 when TV network ABC produced a live reenactment of an episode featuring contemporary celebrities, including Gabrielle Union and Jennifer Aniston. I was so excited leading up to the debut of the reboot of one of my favorite childhood programs!
However, do you know what? The Facts of Life remake was a little off. It fell short of the original chemistry of the cast and the beauty of the show. This isn’t a knock on the contemporary cast or producers. It’s just inevitable. Reliving the past just doesn’t work. There isn’t a way to recapture the original moment of any situation. As a fan of the original Facts of Life, I have outgrown what I enjoyed about the show. The content and context no longer has a meaningful impact on me as a mature woman.
Here is a fact of life for you: When we try to relive a moment that doesn’t serve us now, it’s just awkward at best and distracts and delays us from the amazing things we are to accomplish now.
There is a specific season for everything. Let’s keep the past were it belongs (behind us) and press forward toward the new wonders that are awaiting for us.
