10 Reasons Why I Love Switched at Birth

Days left: 27

It's a frightening concept to look at your room and imagine it in boxes. Oh yeah, it's also interesting to picture myself any where else but home. It's foreign. That makes it exciting and nostalgic at the same time. I am a mama and daddy's girl and I am not afraid to say it.

For those of you unaware of this gem, Switched at Birth is a new ABC Family drama about two families whose daughters were (literally) switched at birth (hence the title). While this premise can be trite, this show is certainly filled with down to earth maxims, lessons, and laughter. Daphne (left) is deaf and Bay (right, remember April Nardini from Gilmore girls?) is a spoiled rich girl who has inner angst displayed in her outlet--art. With two strangers suddenly becoming families, co-mingling poses a problem as well as a lot of strife rising from the fact that both families have to grasp that their daughters--the child they have raised fro sixteen years--is not their biological daughter. Insert drama!

1. It's about family.

Finally, a series that has two parents who are not divorced, harbouring destructive secrets, or want to leave the other person. A husband and wife portrayal that seem very much in love after (I presume) two decades of marriage. In a world saturated with ending things on account of irreconcilable differences, it's nice to see that it's possible to have a loving, lasting, and rewarding marriage even if it's not filled with excessive, over-the-top, unrealistic drama.

2. It makes you aware of the deaf community.

Daphne contracted meningitis at three, leaving her deaf. Interestingly enough though, she is quite oral, speaking without hesitance and able to read lips flawlessly. It also makes you realize that deaf people are not retarded or have some hindrance that makes them "different". They just can't hear, that's all; that doesn't make them social lepers and when I view the scenes in which fellow classmates at "hearing schools" (as Daphne and Regina--Daphne's mother and Bay's biological mom--call them) pointing and jeering at Daphne on her inability to hear, it poses a controversial question: Would I do the same? Disregarding about whether or not medical procedures can be done to ameliorate it (or ask Jesus to eradicate it completely--healing that broken part), it questions the way we, humans, see others who have less or can't see or hear. We judge them just because they can't hear, when really, they may in fact be loving, kind, warm people with outstanding abilities but you would never see that because you can't get past the fact that they are deaf. I admit, I may have had that mentality before seeing this show. After watching it (and growing increasingly addicted!), I am renewing my mind about many things...

3. Lucas Grabeel!

Lucas (Ryan from the High School Musical franchise) plays Toby, Bay's older (and cute) brother. While he may in fact be a whole decade older than his character, he brings a vulnerability to his character and with that baby face and red hair, you seriously want to ruffle it. Plus, it eradicates the stereotype that siblings don't get along. Toby and Bay love each other and it's refreshing to see sibling love instead of sibling animosity.

4. Emmett. 
He is Daphne's best friend and, judging from clandestine glances shot at lightning-quick velocity, possibly have a unrequited crush on her. He is also deaf. In real life. But he is oh so cute. He is the kindest, warmest, funniest, coolest guy ever. He plays drums, rides a motorcycle, and plays a mean game of poker. And he's a good listener. He is the type of friend I'd want to have.

5. Sign Language.

I have a rising urge to learn sign language and Switched at Birth is no doubt a contributing factor to this.

6. Austin Butler.

Yes, he guest stars in this series and judging by the recent episodes, may grow to be a series regular. He is so fine and yet could also be a villain at the same time. Something about his character makes him interesting...haven't figured that out yet.

7. Lea Thompson.

I recently watched Some Kind of Wonderful and then I watched Switched at Birth. Upon closer inspection, I realized that Bay's mom, Catherine, is Amanda from Some Kind of Wonderful. '80s revival!

8. It shows the strength of a family and the ability to overcome great trials.

Yes, trails comes, obstacles come, and the rain falls, but when you have the backbone of a strong family behind you and the support of a loving family, it makes going through that tribulation easier knowing you're not going through it alone.

9. It's not dull.

Let's face it: a lot of shows these days add superfluous drama to keep viewers enticed, never mind that that situation might never happen in real life (like a gymnast getting pregnant, for example). It's regular family drama and how they react to it. It's real life.

10. It leaves you with this one question: how do you react when the girl you raised for the past sixteen years is not yours?

 A one-in-a-several-million chances that your child get switched with another woman's and how many years later, you are reunited with the child you carried in your stomach for nine months. It makes you wonder if two complete strangers, two different families, can combine and become a family.