176/365

I have an obsession with television shows with characters that have serious problems. I don't mean like Hannibal-like problems or Bates Motel-like problems, but regular, real-life problems. That's one of the reasons that my mom and I started watching Shameless. I'd seen it advertised a few times and we rented the first three seasons on Netflix and then took a bit of a break from it for a while. We picked it back up last week. Shameless is the television series with which you wish you didn't relate. The family is extremely messed up. 

Frank, the father of seven children, is an alcoholic. He's known to pass out in random gutters in the south side of Chicago and is often found by the police and carried back home at random hours. He doesn't take care of his children and he doesn't care about their problems, so someone has to step into his role. Cue Fiona, his oldest daughter, is a twenty-something girl with too much responsibility and a multitude of boyfriends and jobs. She wants really desperately to provide for her family but she's just irresponsible. She doesn't know what a relationship is if there is no lying, cheating or hiding. She struggles a lot throughout all of the seasons.

Lip, the oldest boy, is absolutely brilliant and more responsible than Fiona. He receives a full ride to The University of Chicago and has trouble with the knowledge that he can do so much better than everyone thought that he could. Then there is Ian, who is gay and struggles with bipolar disorder and tries to steal an army helicopter after faking his way into the army. Carl loves fire and girls. He's twelve. He definitely has some problems coming his way.

Debbie and Liam are the last two babies, beyond Frank's oldest daughter Sammi. Debbie struggles with being a thirteen-year-old virgin, apparently a rarity. She wants to be older, to be seen as an adult. Everyone, well every girl, knows that it's hard to transform mentally from girl to woman when your body is already half-way there. Liam is the tiniest, barely three and just recently he snorted

some of Fiona's cocaine and nearly died. Don't worry; he lives. Sammi is only brought into the picture when Frank needs a new liver, as his one is killing him, and she's the same blood type and has too many daddy issues to understand that he's just using her.

Overall, Shameless is a show that acknowledges some of the problems in poverty-ridden families. It's hard to be normal and to be functioning like you are "supposed to" when you don't have money. Also the characters are amazing and you can't help but root for them all (except Frank) because you want them to realize that they are a lot better than the slums of Chicago. 

catch you later,

Karleigh

"There's always gonna be people that are going to try and fix us and you can never make those people happy, like it breaks their heart just to look at you." // Monica