In 2014, I was an intern at BMW M in Munich. I lived in a tiny apartment offered by the company that somehow still cost almost my entire below-minimum-wage salary. I was young, relatively broke, and single.
For the first three months, I had no internet. It was a deliberate choice so I’d go out, get to know the city, and meet people. But that also meant I couldn’t watch the very last episodes of How I Met Your Mother as they were released—and my single-self really needed that inspiration. So every once in a while, I went to a coffee shop, bummed their wifi, and downloaded the latest episode. Then, the introvert and romantic in me could watch it in the quiet comforts of his home whenever all the intern buzz became too much.
In one of those episodes, Ted and the love of his life, Tracy, finally go on their first date. Naturally, it’s awkward. The restaurant they’re supposed to eat at is noisy and has terrible food choices. They bump into Tracy’s ex and hide behind a car. By the time Ted is about to drop Tracy off at home, they both admit they’re probably not ready for a new relationship. But then, right as the thought, “I’ll never see her again,” forms in his head, for some reason, Tracy gives him a kiss. “Unless…do you want to walk around some more? It’s still early.”
Ted agrees and, as Tracy is standing three feet in front of him, holding out her hand, some cosmic intuition hits him. He doesn’t really realize it, but deep down, it clicks: “This is it. So for a moment that feels like an eternity, he just stands there, staring. Until Tracy asks: “What are you doing?” And to that, Ted can only offer the truth: “Remembering this”—because in his soul, he knows this is a once-in-a-lifetime event he will carry with him forever. And just as quickly, Tracy says, “Come on.” They join hands, start walking, and the moment is passed—lost but not gone.
I, too, will forever remember this scene. Not just the 10/10 storytelling from a great TV show, but myself, sitting in that tiny room without internet, watching it play out on screen—still single, still waiting for that special person, and, thanks to How I Met Your Mother, never losing faith that she is out there.
Love is not all we want out of life, but it sure is an image, isn’t it? Someone who holds out their hand to us and says, “Come on! We’ll walk together.” Just so we can stand there and say, “Okay. Yes. Thank you. I’ve waited a long time for this. But first, let me take a second to remember this moment.”
Whether it is love, work, friendship, art, beauty, pain, or inspiration that writes the next climactic scene in the movie of your life, be sure to take it in fully as it happens. Breathe deeply, listen to what your heart is telling you, and whenever the answer is, “This is it,” ask for some extra time to process. And if someone asks you what you’re doing, just tell them the truth: “Remembering this.”