The reality of life is simple, it's bittersweet. It is an amalgamation of everything sweet and salty; it is everything that we dreamed of and everything we didn't want to happen or didn't think would happen.
That IS the reality of life, and this drama portrayed it beautifully. The resilience of youth, the belief in the possibility of anything, the friendships, the moments our naive optimistic young selves want to remember forever, and the relationships we want to stay the same, as well as the bitter reality of life hitting us- of change, of loss, of our own limitations, and of impossibilities; Twenty Five and Twenty One, encapsulates all of this in its 16 episodes and it does so in a way that leaves you feeling too many emotions all at once but at the same time it has the ability to make you feel all warm inside.

I hadn't planned to pick this up until all the episodes had been released, however, 2-3 weeks before my (very important, career deciding) exams I ended up starting the show since I couldn't help but procrastinate on studying. Plus I was also going through a hard time in terms of mental health during the same period and this drama turned out to be such a healing watch; the music, the cinematography, and especially the dialogues, it felt like they were all coming together to give me a hug from the inside. It is what kept me going and certain dialogues I think will stick with me for life.

*slight spoiler starts*
One of my favorite moments from the whole drama is when Na Hee Do is talking to her daughter about the progression of ability, and how it isn't a graph with the linear increase but rather an exponential increase. She likened it to a staircase and how once we hit the wall to jump onto the next step, we should keep at it instead of giving up. That most people when hit this wall, give up but to keep being better or doing better we need to keep going at the wall and keep trying until we are able to jump over that wall
*slight spoiler ends*

I genuinely enjoyed watching this and could see myself re-watching it again a few years down the line when I find myself stuck trying to jump onto the next step. Missing out on the opportunity to watch this would be missing out on a true gem!


p.s
*Opinion on ending* *major spoiler*
I know quite a lot of people weren't too happy about the ending but to me it was perfect. Putting aside the fact that personally, I was more of a fan of Na Hee Do and Baek Ye jin's friendship than their non-platonic relationship; I did want them to find a way to get back together, I mean who doesn't love a happily ever after, however, I think if the writer had done so it would have missed the whole point of the message of the show that is life will have moments that will make you feel so alive and moments that will have you feeling totally hopeless and both are needed for life to be truly appreciated in its essence. Moreover, the drama also showed that change happens; it is inevitable, however, that does not invalidate the moments, memories, or relationships you had before the change happened, it does not make the most beautiful moment in your life any less beautiful and neither does the change mean there will be no more beautiful moments in your life in the future. Borrowing from the idea behind BTS's new album (Proof coming out 10th June :3), The beautiful moments in our life are always yet to come so we need to keep on moving.