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My 24 Hour RuBound, Or Why 'Drag Race' Is The Best (Only?) Show To Get You Over A Breakup

One woman's journey to healing, self discovery, and loving yourself again. 'Cause if you can't love yourself, how in the h... well, you know the rest.

---Eleanor Monahan

I had just broken up with a boyfriend and was looking for something that could immediately fill the void that my relationship once occupied. Of course, we all know the one tried and true way to get over a break up, that’s to run head long into a new relationship... with a television show. For years upon years, I’d heard these curious murmurs over and over again...

...Do you watch Drag Race?...

...It’s the best show on television...

...You need to watch RuPaul’s Drag Race...

...BACK ROLLS???...

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What could it all MEAN? I was about to find out. The year was 2014, the season was 6. I began episode one and the rest, as they say, is Herstory.

The first ever entrance I experienced was Adore Delano. I was feeling fragile, I was lacking confidence, and I was drawn to her “I’m-a-f*ckin’ Libra” energy immediately. Then I thought, “Come on, man. This is the first queen! You gotta wait a little before you pick favorites.” Then I heard her use “Party” as a greeting, and I was sold.

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As each queen made her grand entrance, I felt my tender soul swell with the regenerative magic of Queer Greatness.

I descended into mini challenges, maxi challenges, and runway looks. I wept at personal stories and delighted in Bianca Del Rio’s tough love with a mega-watt smile. I lived for Ben De La Creme’s bug look so hard it ADDED several years onto my life.

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LaGanja’s POV-shattering death drop still inspires me to this day.

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Time folded in onto itself and I lost all sense of the outside world completely. All that mattered was RuPaul’s Drag Race. The more I pressed play, the more Mama Ru’s hypnotic laugh at the beginning and end of every commercial break danced its way into my brain folds, cementing a new region dedicated entirely to drag.

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My RuBound was officially in effect.

Now, the beautiful thing about falling in love with a new television show after a break up is that you don’t have to worry about the inevitable fall out: TV is a girl’s best friend. It will NEVER let you down. TV doesn’t have commitment issues! TV is there for you no matter what.

Rebounding with RuPaul’s Drag Race however, is like meeting Prince and/or Princess Charming the day after you were dumped by the Wicked Witch. You say to yourself, No! I’m not ready! And Ru says, “Shhh, Squirrelfriend,” and then she sashays down the runway and gives you full body chills. I’m not kidding. Every single time RuPaul debuted her look on the runway, I experienced ASMR. (You know what that is because Ru and the judges referenced ASMR on AS4 available on iTunes).

Discovering S6 when I did was karmic for many reasons. It is a glorious, rejuvenating season. Courtney Act’s baby blue wing span is enough to make anyone feel like a phoenix rising from the ashes.

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After catching up within twenty-four hours, by the next air date I was watching new episodes live each week after a rousing game of drag bingo. I made new friendships with other fans, and later attended the inaugural DragCon with bells and whistles on (okay, maybe just sequins).

RuPaul’s Drag Race healed me after a hard break up, and after I went on to watch all the seasons I learned something new from each one. My 24 Hour RuBound was a master class in life itself. Its core values are universal: challenge yourself, don’t take things too seriously, and love yourself—‘cause if you can’t love yourself, how in the h---... well, you know the rest.

Tune in to the season premiere of RuPaul's Drag Race (season 11, baby) Thursday, February 28 at 9/8c.