In honor of The Simpsons 500th episode, here’s an excerpt of a bio I wrote for a fellowship application last year. (I didn’t get it.)

“In 1993, as a freshman at NYU film school, Seth was taking a break from being the next Martin Scorsese, when The Simpsons came on his dorm room’s 13-inch TV. Man, Seth hated that show. But he only got three channels, and the other two were even worse, so he gave it a chance. He watched Mr. Burns try to convince the power plant workers’ union to drop their dental plan in exchange for a keg of beer at their meetings. Homer likes beer, but Lisa needs braces. Homer strains to birth a thought, hearing over and over in his mind, “Dental plan. Lisa needs braces. Dental plan. Lisa needs braces.” Homer almost grasps it… then Lenny drops a pencil down his butt crack. Seth laughed. He kept watching. A wide receiver trips over the shallow grave of the last union president. Seth laughed even harder. In that moment, Seth realized that he loved laughing. Seth loved the way TV invited itself into your house and then made you happy. He figured out what he wanted to do.”

Thanks to everybody’s who worked on The Simpsons over the last 19 years for helping me get my life in order.