people always say you should be yourself, like "yourself" is this definite thing, like a toaster or something, like you can know what it is, even...

my so-called life

curious to see that the first series that has surprised me in quite a long time, is from 1994, no less!  

it's a tipical subject, teenage issues, but kind of focused more on the thoughts rather than the actual problems/affairs/whatever.

that's why you can find little pieces of wisdom...

"people always say you should be yourself, like 'yourself' is this definite thing, like a toaster or something, like you can know what it is, even..." 

"...but every so often i'll have like a moment, when just being myself, and my life, right  where i am, is like... enough"

"sometimes it seems like we're all living in some kind of prison, and the crime is how much we hate ourselves.
it's good to get really dressed up, once in a while, and admit the truth:
that when you really look closely, people are so strange and so complicated that they are actually beautiful...
...possibly even me"

and well, just from the first chapter you can pick almost every phrase...

My So-Called Life deals with issues much discussed in the mid-nineties, including child abuse, homophobia, teenage alcoholism, homelessness, adultery, school violence, same-sex parenting, censorship, and drug use. While a lot of shows brought up these themes as a one-time issue (a "very special episode") that would be introduced as a problem at the beginning of an episode and resolved at the end, in My So-Called Life they are just a part of the continuing fabric of the storylines. The title of the show alludes to the perception of meaninglessness that many teenagers experience and encapsulates the main theme of the series. The show depicts teenage years as difficult and confusing as opposed to a light, fun-filled time of pranks and jokes. 

(wikipedia)