Dr Quinn has touched my life in many ways, but most importantly, it taught me the most important lesson I’ve ever learned. Life is worth living. Since the airing of the Pilot, Dr. Quinn has helped me through some very difficult times. Still today, ten years later, it is making things a little bit clearer.
The first difficult time came when my mom got remarried. I had some trouble adjusting to change. DQ was my escape every Saturday night. I was allowed to hide out in my room and have an hour of peace.
Throughout the years, my family grew even more. I now am the only girl in a family of six children. I always felt distant from my family, as if I didn’t belong there. DQ helped me in so many ways. I don’t know what it was but just watching made me feel as if life had a purpose. I just hadn’t found it yet.
The show was cancelled right before I started high school. It was a difficult time, but having the best part of my life taken away made it even worse. I cried for about a week when I found out Dr. Quinn wasn’t coming back. My mom thought I was going to have a break down. Well as it turns out I did. But that wasn’t because of the cancellation. It was for various reasons. Mostly because I had an anxiety and depression disorder. I was in the hospital for treatment for two weeks. This may sound corny, but it was DQ that finally made me happy again. My mom found one of my old DQ tapes, one of the ones my brother hadn’t taped over. She put it in and left me alone to watch. I will always remember that day. The episode was Where the Heart is. To this day, that is my very favorite episode. I sat there watching it, reciting each and very line. I cried and cried. But this wasn’t because I was depressed and wanted to die. This was because I wanted to live.
I wore that tape out in two weeks. Seeing as that was the only tape I had and the show had been cancelled. I was then left without any Dr. Quinn. I lasted the next 2-3 years without Dr. Quinn. I don’t know how I did it. I was out of town when both of the movies were aired and of course fate made it so our VCRs were not working either. So during my Senior year of high school, I finally bought them on VHS. I was so thrilled to have DQ again! As I said I hadn’t seen it for about 2-3 years. This little glimmer of DQ helped me get through the difficult tasks of choosing a college, and a major, and leaving home.
Then I discovered DQMW on the web. I never knew there was so much out there. I now spend most of my time online. I write Dr. Quinn fanfiction. I have my very own Dr. Quinn website.www.angelfire.com/super2/dqmwfanfiction It’s still a work in progress, but I am proud of it. I had been writing even before I discovered the fanfiction online, but that just furthered my love of writing.
I’ve now changed my major to English. I plan on working at a publishing company and doing my own writing at the same time. Dr. Quinn started my passion for writing and helped it grow. But the greatest influence on my career choice came from the friends I met because of DQ. They have encouraged my dream of being a professional writer, but most of all, they are there for me when I need them.
The friends I speak of are the ones I met online on the various Dr. Quinn websites that I frequent. I became fast friends with many people this way, but three of these women especially touch my heart. We call each other sisters, because we are more like sisters then friends. It may seem strange that we call each other sisters since I’ve only met one of my sisters and they all live in different states, but to us, it’s as if we’ve known each other our entire lives.
This year alone, they have helped me again survive depression. Last year was my first year of college. It seemed like everything that could possibly go wrong did. My dad(step dad actually) and brother were both sent to fight in the war. My biological father had a heart attack. Another brother was put in the hospital and my mom broke her arm. And that’s just the beginning. I go to school four hours away from home, yet I had to play second mother in my house for most of my second semester. That’s very difficult from so far away. But through it all I have had my DQ friends to help me. They let me ramble on and on when I just need to let it all out. They supported me when I wanted it all to disappear and just have a “normal” college experience.
The summer and the beginning of my sophomore year were no better for me. I was so emotionally drained that I almost didn’t return to college this semester. But my Dr. Quinn friends and sisters were there for me every step of the way. Through them and a daily viewing of Dr. Quinn, I once again found my way out of depression. Dr. Quinn has brought out the things I value and made me realize that although it may sometimes seem like you live in a world of turmoil, there are people who love you. These people will always help you make it through the bad times and will also gladly celebrate the good times.