From the spin-off of Freeform’s “Black-ish,” “Grown-ish” explores many of the difficulties of college life, attracting anyone who may be going through their own college-based dilemmas.
With season two bringing viewers different characters each facing his or her own disputes, “Grown-ish” gives viewers a taste of real-life young adult problems. Some students say that their college lifestyle is completely different from their former high school lifestyle, especially if they went away for school. This transition from high school to college can be hard for a student and can affect them in a myriad of ways, depending on the student and his or her social and academic lifestyles.
The second season begins with the protagonist, Zoey, played by Yara Shahidi, gleaming about her new relationship with Luca, played by Luka Sabbat. She hasn’t seen Luca since he left for a summer away from home. Zoey sets up a romantic evening for two, but she finds out that Luca is already at school and didn’t tell her when he arrived, which infuriated Zoey.
When Zoey confronted him, he explained why he didn’t text or give a call once arriving. Although still mad, Zoey realized that relationships are give and take. Even though she would’ve liked a heads-up when he got to school, she understood why he didn’t call upon his return to campus.
Zoey’s friend, Vivek, played by Jordan Buhat, must deal with his own relationships. He struggles and lacks confidence with friendships rather than romantic relationships. Vivek grew up without many materialistic things that others may have had, but he decided that it was going to change when he came to college.
He started selling drugs to his peers and classmates, earning money to buy the latest cellphones, devices, and designer clothing to heighten his social status. He was only buying things to flaunt his money and buy the friendships of his elite and wealthy classmates. To Vivek, impressing others with flashy items is the key to being at the top of the social ladder, and he wasn’t going to stop for anything or anyone.
One of Vivek’s best customers is Nomi, played by Emily Arlook. Nomi takes drugs, like Adderall, to get through the pressures of the day. This concerns some of her closest friends who care about her well-being. They start to wonder whether she can get through a day without any drug usage.
Other conflicts affect student athletes, including track runners Jazz and Sky, played by Chloe and Halle Bailey, who don’t believe that they are being taken seriously because of their lack of athletic sponsorships. Other athletes at their college have endorsements with big name companies, like Nike and Adidas, which make the duo want to elevate their athletic image to the social media world.
They ask Zoey to be their stylist in order to rebrand themselves, but when that doesn’t work, they retreat to posting pictures with little clothing on to gain more social media followers in hopes of receiving sponsorships like other student athletes.
Zoey and her relationship with Luca is not off the hook. When seeing all of her other friends that are in relationships posting pictures on Instagram tagged with “#RelationshipGoals,” she wonders why she and Luca aren’t doing the same.
Zoey then gets determined to do everything she can to get the infamous tag, like taking pictures with Luca every chance she gets, even if the pictures might not be insta-worthy. This sparks an argument between the couple about whether or not a hashtag and social media likes define their relationship. While Zoey thinks it’s the key to any relationship, Luca disagrees. In the end, they both decide they don’t need a tag to know that they love each other.
Issues like these can be seen in any typical college-bound young adult’s life and many can relate to the problems already faced by Zoey and her best friends. The series brings awareness to the average struggles college life brings beyond the academic aspect.
To see how this group of friends overcome their battles, watch “Grown-ish” Wednesdays on Freeform.
By Cammie Dutchess, Contributing Writer
jonesdca17@bonaventure.edu
