Daria at first seems like just a show about a somewhat interesting girl and her comedic or weird life. It’s much more than that. Daria doesn’t have to rely on wild fantasy or a complex storyline.

Daria doesn’t care about what the world thinks, what we think, you think, or anyone else. The show is about what Daria thinks and how she responds and reacts to the world around her. There’s something so satisfying in seeing her point out things that are wrong with the world or what people do. Her mindset is basically: “So what? Why does this matter? Is this really that important or have you convinced yourself it is?”.

Daria’s hard truth and reality checks give you insight to a character who is unique unlike any other. While most would see her as negative I see it as a change for the better. Everyone can learn that sometimes the truth is better, hearing the things we don’t want to hear but have to; rather than convincing us to lie to ourselves and live the lives others want and not us as individuals.

Here’s two quotes I thought hit pretty hard from the show or just were really good before you depart.

“My goal is not to wake up at forty with the bitter realization that I've wasted my life on a job I hated because I was forced to decide on a career in my teens.”

(Season 2, Episode 8: “Gifted”)

“What do you mean? What do you mean pushing yourself as some kind of role model when all you care about is how you look and what celebrities you know? Aren't teenage girls screwed up enough without you foisting your shallow values on them and making their lousy self-images worse?”

(Season 3, Episode 6: “The Lost Girls”)

“See, now that speaks directly to the ambiguities at issue here. The prize is given by a company with less than stellar ethics. So, which would make me more deserving of the prize? Acting ethically, or acting unethically?”

“Whether or not I deserve anything is irrelevant, assuming you run your scholarship program the same way you run your company. Since the token women and minorities you hire rarely move into upper management, and since I won't give the answers you want to hear, in hopes of somehow bucking the odds, I guess you can pass on me, as if I were one of your female employees up for promotion.”

(Season 5, Episode 11: “Prize Fighters”)