[You’re jealous] of him. He’s changing. And that’s scary for you because you want to change too. You’re scared that you’ll lose all the weight and that nothing will have changed, right? That you will discover that the person who you’ve always been is who you truly are. And all your dreams of the kind of life you’re gonna lead one day are nothing more than lies you’ve told yourself. I get it. It’s scary. I mean, if I were you, I’d be terrified. Trust me. You don’t know women like me.

I’d heard people talking about the show for some time before we decided to start watching the first season of This Is Us. We should’ve started sooner. It’s one of these TV series of expertly weaves comedy with drama, complex characters with relatable circumstances. Well, I’m not an established Broadway star like Olivia Maine (played by Janet Montgomery), but I totally could be, right?

You might recall when I featured the character of William Hill earlier this year. The excerpts I selected involved his conversations with Olivia Maine and how the two of them were in very different periods in their respective lives. He tried to impart some wisdom and perspective on her, and now in this week’s Sunday Snippet, Olivia is imparting some insight on Kate Pearson, played by Chrissy Metz on the show.

Do people ever really change? They may change some of their outward circumstances, but at the very core of the matter, do they really just remain the same?

There’s this idea of the dangling carrot and how “I’ll be happy when (fill in the blank).” Some people might say they’ll be happy when they land a certain job or when they get married or when they pay off their mortgage. But this line of thinking puts your happiness out there, someone in the distance, just out of reach.

And when you get there, it’s not so satisfying or as motivating anymore. It’s just the new status quo. It’s the new normal. You thought that achieving a certain goal or shedding yourself of a certain burden would completely change your life for the better. But it can feel empty. Like nothing has really changed. That you’re still who you’ve always been.

This is the challenge put forth by Olivia Maine as Kate Pearson embarks on a weight loss journey. In Kate’s mind, all her problems will be solved and she will be infinitely happier when she manages to lose X number of pounds or sheds Y number of inches off her frame. Olivia disagrees. Because the dreams you achieve can never live up to the hype you create for them in your head.

But is that actually true? Have you ever gone through a life-changing transformation and emerged as an entirely new person? Or is what we really want always just around the corner, just a hair out of reach? I’m not sure.

Season 3 of This Is Us premieres on NBC on September 25. That’s this Tuesday, for those of you playing along at home. Please, no spoilers even from season 2 for me. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like it’s coming to Netflix, so I just might have to pick up the DVD set.