Weekend Watch: Good Trouble

“What do you want to be when you grow up?”

People began asking me this question pretty much as soon as I could articulate an answer. “A missionary,” I would tell them when I was very young. I am not exactly sure why this was my answer, other than just because I had grown up in church my entire life and that was something I was familiar with. By the time I was in middle school, my answer was different.

“What do you want to go to college for?”

The question changed a little bit by the time I reached middle school. “I want to be a teacher,” was my new answer. I really liked school. I guess I thought that if I was a teacher then I would have an excuse to go to school every day even after I graduated. By junior year of high school, I had yet a different answer.

“What is your major going to be?”

This question is ever evolving as I walk through various stages of life. “I am going to be a journalism and political science double major, and then I’m going to law school.” I gave this spiel to countless people, and often continue to give it.

My goals in life have come a long way since middle school. In the musings of my own mind, I allow myself to imagine attending a top-ranked law school, moving to New York City to practice law, suddenly losing the need for a driver’s license, taking an Uber everywhere I go, living in a nice apartment with a huge dog… basically the perfect set up for the next Hallmark Christmas movie. With aspirations as lofty as these, I often never even consider adding some sort of relationship to the mix.

In January of this year, Freeform released a spinoff show ofThe Fosters called Good Trouble. The synopsis: Two sisters move to Los Angeles to embark on the next adventure in their lives. Mariana tackles the male-dominated world of tech, and Callie faces the harsh realities of the legal system while she clerks for a federal judge. They move to a coterie in downtown Los Angeles, they have no need for driver’s licenses, they Uber everywhere, they live in close proximity with their neighbors and the addition of romantic drama makes for a quick realization that they have not undertaken any small task.

“It exists,” I thought. Finally there was a television show that was a nearly perfect representation of what I allowed myself to imagine my future would look like. Highly entertaining, this television show provides a perfect mix of family life ups and downs, relationship drama, workplace struggles and an accurate representation of the struggles surrounding learning how to “adult” in the real world.

I find myself waiting anxiously for a new episode each week, something we don’t often have to endure upon the invention of Netflix. There is something about not having immediate access to a full season of this show that makes me appreciate it more. I hang on every word and plot twist knowing that I will have to wait a week to get answers.

I pay particular attention to Callie. She is, after all, living my imagined life. Quiet in her confidence, Callie throws herself into the fast-paced world of law. Consumed by work, she has little to no time for a social life and finds herself tiptoeing around her coworkers and the federal judge she works for. Work continues to throw new challenges her way, and she is quick to adapt. The real drama stems from her personal life.

Living in close quarters with people has some benefits, including close friendships with those around you, or if you’re not careful, romantic relationships. There is an immediate spark between Callie and her upstairs neighbor and essential demi-god, Gael. Their relationship is casual, lacking any form of actual commitment. They have an intense physical connection but fail to develop an emotional one.

Meanwhile, each of them continue to pursue relationships with other people. This makes for a tense environment whenever the two are around. Where their real intentions lie, it is still unclear, but I think it’s safe to say that it is having no small effect on each of them.

Mariana, though she has a slightly less eccentric personal life, does not lack struggles in her workplace. She works with a team of graphic designers in which she is the only female on the team, and one of only a few females in the entire workplace. Thus far, the series has followed her as she has worked to ensure that her voice is heard among her teammates. She has been largely unsuccessful. Taking a blow to not only her work presence, but also her self-esteem, she cannot help but be discouraged by the difficulties she has faced in the real world.

To make a long story short: this show has me hooked. Maybe this isn’t quite the way I want my future to go… sure I want to go to law school and get a good job, but maybe I don’t actually need the New York City or Los Angeles scene. Sure, I want a relationship of some kind, but certainly not Callie’s relationship. And sure, I want to prove myself in my workplace, but maybe not to the extent of Mariana.

Whether you find your aspirations closely aligning with the plot of this show, or completely opposite, Good Trouble promises to entertain. With the first twelve episodes available on Hulu, this might be your perfect spring break binge watch.