Is My Life About to Become a Sitcom?

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Sitcoms (or situation comedy) are an extremely important and popular part of television programming. They constantly top viewing figures and are one of those things people are talking about and referencing for years. Think about the famous American sitcom Friends, even if you haven't seen it you'll probably be able to name one of the characters and maybe quote one of the famous lines or tell me a storyline from the show because it has become such a staple of viewing that nearly anyone who has ever been near a television will know about it.

The reason sitcoms are so funny and popular is because most people viewing are able to relate to it in some way. I may not be able to relate to sitcoms at the age I'm at (20) but I still find them funny. On top of that I have now realised that I am getting dangerously close to the age of the character in these shows.

This has honestly started to worry me because I am now thinking of all the problems that the characters face in these shows and I realise that most of these problems will be happening to me soon. Think about it right now, think of all the sitcoms you know about; Friends, How I Met Your Mother, Coupling, The Big Bang Theory, Gavin and Stacy and countless others that have come and gone.

Right, now think of the average plot synopsis of a sitcom. 'A group of twenty-somethings struggle through relationship, jobs and all the problems that come between.' Yeah sounds like a right fucking laugh  The average TV viewer (ie someone over 30) will look at something like this and fondly remember the days when that was their life and they had the rest of their lives ahead of them. But if you're my age, then you should be shitting yourself; I know I am.

If you think about all the problems that the characters traditionally go through it's normally about finding a partner, getting married, finding somewhere to live and then starting a family and then after that theres all the money worries and problems with in-laws and it's all a giant fucking laugh for everyone involved.

Well it doesn't sound like fucking fun to me. I am genuinely terrified of getting older. At the moment I'm kind of in a state of limbo whereby I'm too old to have my parents take complete care of me by feeding me, clothing me and housing me, but I'm also too young to kind of take care of all those things myself and become a completely individual person. Maybe if I hadn't gone to Uni I could be financially independent by now, but then I wouldn't doing something I loved.

But I now know that in the next few years I am going to have to take care of myself. Most people think of their lives in 5-Year Plans. That's always the question you seem to hear at important job interviews (I mean like in films and TV, I've never been to a proper job interview) "What's your five year plan?" or "Where do you see yourself in 5 years?"

I have no idea where I'm going to be in 5 years, when I will be 25 and halfway to 30. When my mum was 25 she was married, had had me in Glasgow and moved down to Cambridge (like 600 miles) for a job and was planning to have my younger brother. I can't really imagine anything like that when I'm 25. I could maybe see myself being married when I'm 25, I've had a girlfriend for almost 4 years now so I guess it would make sense. But I don't want to ask her to marry me until I can afford a proper wedding and for us to be financially stable and ready to start a family or something. Average engagements last around 1-2 years which would mean if I'm going to married by 25 then I have to propose when I'm 23 or 24. I'll finish Uni when I'm 22 so I don't think there's anyway that I will have enough money for any of that.

I mean parts of me are so looking forward to getting older and married and having children and proper job doing something I love and a house and everything. But I can't imagine that happening in the next 5 years. I can barely see it happening in the next 10 years. On top of that, I've seen how much the characters in these shows struggle but it's all fine by the next episode. Is life going to be like that? Or has TV lied to me?

So I'll give a 5 year plan, seems like a good time, I'll live my life in blocks of 5 years. In 5 years I want to have a degree and be working my way up the Television Industry, I'll still be with Olivia (My Girlfriend) and we'll be thinking about future stuff. Oh, and I'll have somewhere nice to live. Now does anyone know Matt LeBlanc's phone number? I'm going to need him to say something funny whenever something fucks up.