When original host Steve left “Blue’s Clues” without any warning, it left such a big hole in the hearts of many of us 90s kids. We watched him say his final goodbye, a hat atop his head and a bag in tow, hop on a bus, and leave… and we never saw him again.
I remember hearing so many crazy rumors since his farewell. Friends scared me with tales that he died. The Internet convinced me he went on to pursue a music career. There was no easy way of knowing back then if they were true or not. But it slowly made sense to me that Steve was never coming back. He’s moved on and we all should too.
Having grown up, the confusion and sadness I’ve felt for years have long dissipated and morphed into understanding—that Steve had to grow up too at some point. After all, nearly six years of wearing striped green sweaters and finding clues was a really long time. “I left the show because it was just simply time to go,” he told The Huffington Post back in 2016. “I was pretty much playing a boyish, older-brotherish kind of character on the show. I was getting older; I was losing my hair; a lot of the original people on the show, like the people who created it, were all moving on to other careers. It just felt like time. I just had a gut feeling like it was time to go.”
Now, I’m filled with nothing but gratitude that he left. Had he not, we wouldn’t have met Joe, who was kooky in all sorts of charming ways that made us heartbroken Steve kids like him too. And without Joe, we wouldn’t have been here today, celebrating Filipino representation with Josh as the new host of the currently airing “Blue’s Clues and You!”
But there was never a day when I forgot Steve.
There is a sense of wonder, comfort, and nostalgia that comes in meeting someone, who had been such a huge part of your childhood and who you haven’t seen in years, once again as if it’s the first time. Steve returning to celebrate a new era of “Blue’s Clues” that is now being watched and loved by the kids of the very same millennials who grew up with him seemed like a full-circle moment. It’s as though he came back to see how far we’ve come and for us to see how far he’s come, too.
Watching his message on the 25th anniversary of “Blue’s Clues” and almost crying at 9 in the morning, I’ve realized that Steve never truly left us. No matter how long it’s been, through all the challenges we’ve faced and all the dreams we’ve achieved for ourselves, he’s always been there too, building his own life, so that we’ll all someday see each other again with joy and appreciation.
I’m proud to have been a “Blue’s Clues” Steve kid. He taught me many things: how to sing about mail, how to draw things on our handy-dandy notebook, and that those who truly care about you will never say goodbye—just “see you later.”
Thank you, Steve, for never forgetting us. We never did, ever.
(ALSO READ: Steve From “Blue’s Clues” Just Gave a Sentimental Message About His Abrupt Exit From the Show)
What message do you have for Steve? Write them in the comments!
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