How Supergirl became my comfort blanket when I really needed one

Supergirl has impacted so many people in a positive way. Here’s what it means to me. 

Living with anxiety isn’t easy, especially when you don’t know you have anxiety. Little things can seem monumental and big ones, well, they can be pretty overwhelming. And those were things that were weighing on me a lot back in 2015. Yes, the same year that Supergirl debuted on screens.

I had just graduated from University with my degree and was so excited for everything that the future had to offer. But then the uncertainty set in. With graduation and the end of Uni came that feeling of unworthiness over not immediately having a job. And within weeks, I was overcome with worries, restless about “not doing anything” and ultimately very anxious about that same future that once had me so very excited.

There were a lot of positives about that year that helped me find myself again, so I don’t want you to think I was totally unhappy, but as the second half of the year went on, that self-doubt and anxiety made enjoying them increasingly difficult. I eventually found myself in multiple work-related situations that weren’t for me, searching for a purpose they couldn’t give me and, in turn, making that anxiety so much worse.

That’s when Supergirl came into my life. I knew that the series was on its way to CBS and that it starred Melissa Benoist and Jeremy Jordan (who I loved from their respective roles on Glee and SMASH). I was also a major fan of Arrow and The Flash, so I was very excited for the future Arrowverse show to premiere. What I didn’t expect was for it to have such a profound impact on me.

Supergirl soars into skies and hearts

Many superhero properties of the mid-2010s went down the Dark Knight-inspired serious route, trying to be “grounded” by taking themselves too seriously. While I adored properties like that, Supergirl tried to do something different as it boasted all of the qualities that the classic superhero properties from the Golden Age of comic book TV radiated – something that The Flash also did but to a much lesser extent.

It was light-hearted, endearing and even a little bit cheesy, giving us a new big-budget version of the superhero TV shows of yesteryear. And it also wasn’t afraid to wear its heart on its sleeve as that larger-than-life, beautifully lit and adventurous series could pack an emotional punch far more powerful than the ones the Girl of Steel’s fists threw.

I make no exaggerations when I say that watching the first season of Supergirl made me feel like a kid again. No matter what I was feeling in those moments or what worries I had, as soon as I heard that triumphant musical opening or Kara Zor-El’s “When I was a child…” monologue, there was a rush of both excitement and peace that went through me. Supergirl quietened the noise in my head, and for 42 minutes, I could just enjoy the adventures that unfolded in National City, watching my favorite characters overcome worries of their own.

It might sound silly to some, but for someone who spent much of that year with a furrowed brow, overthinking little things and freaking out about big ones (and, in many ways, still does), those 42 minutes of escapism meant everything to me.

They still do, in fact. I’m in a very different place now, but the events of these past two years have been overwhelming, to say the least. Yes, I’m in a much better place to where I was back then, but the feelings of dread and concern resurfaced this year, magnified this time by the fear of a very real threat. And since then, it has been hard to exorcise them.

So, in a desperate bid to forget everything that was going on around me for a little while, I started a Supergirl rewatch this year (that was also partly inspired by the fact that Supergirl‘s sixth season would be its last), and it has, once again, become a comfort blanket for me, with each episode providing me with 42 minutes of much-needed escapism.

With Supergirl ending, it has made me incredibly reflective on the impact it had on my life – an impact I’m not sure I fully realized it had until this year. From revisiting earlier seasons in my rewatch to reliving that sensation of feeling like a kid again, I realize now how much I have needed it in my life.

In the years that Supergirl aired, I found my purpose (which ironically included a lot of writing about it) and am now doing a job I couldn’t love more, I try to deal with my anxiety by being more open about it and I’m no longer worried about feeling unworthy. I’m not saying it’s all down to this one TV series, and I still struggle with a lot at times, but I am saying that I may not be exactly where I am today without both the messages it inspired and the escapism it provided me with.

Every fan of the show will have their own unique experiences of what it means to them. That’s the kind of legacy that Supergirl has inspired. For me, though, it has been a comfort blanket in times that I really needed one, providing a familiar sense of warmth and hope, all while shaping me into who I am today. And for that, I will never forget it.

Thanks for quieting the noise, Supergirl.

What does Supergirl mean to you? Let us know in the comments below!