Happy Birthday LOST!

I cannot believe what a waste my life was just a few short years ago. Then, on September 22, 2004, my life became complete when ABC premiered LOST on this date.

Over the years we've met an incredibly complex group of characters who've faced everything from the mundane aspects of life on an (supposedly) uninhabitated island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean to the far more complicated aspects of surviving on such an island.

We've met Jack, the pragmatic and scientific physician whose lack of faith forced him to be an unwilling de facto leader of the survivors.

We've met Juliet, the  compassionate and caring physician whose faith was tested time and again by the island forcing her to rethink her purpose.

We've met John, the dreamer whose faith would ultimately make him the leader of the island.

We've met Kate and Sawyer, two troubled souls on a mission towards redemption for their past sins.

We've met Charlie and Claire, two more troubled souls whose mission towards redemption, once completed, went down a tragic path.

We've met Jin and Sun, for whom the island provided a new start and renewed love.

We've met Sayid, perhaps the only survivor of the plane crash who's path towards redemption has taken a terribly wrong turn.

We've met Michael, driven to insanity by the demands of fatherhood and the island. 

We've met Bernard and Rose, whose love for each other surpasses and negates their physical reality.

And we've met Hurley. Besieged by what he thinks is a string of bad luck provided by those infamous six numbers, 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, and 42, Hurley consistently became the voice of reason, humor and honesty among the survivors.

We've met The Others, led by Ben Linus, perhaps the most convoluted and troubled character in television history. A man who began to believe his own lies in order to serve the island. All the while realizing and mourning his own mortality.

We've met The Dharma Initiative, a utopian society of scientists on a mission we've yet to fully understand.

Above all, we've met The Island. By far the most important character in LOST. Through the various guises of The Island we've seen the growth of faith, the promise of eternal life, the accountability for one's actions, and above all, the realization that all is not what we see.

Happy Birthday, LOST!