When I first watched FX’s The Bear for the first time, I saw myself in the lead, Carmen “Carmy ‘Bear’” Berzatto”, except with none of the cooking talent, but all of the kitchen fires.

When Carmen talked about his experiences setting kitchens on fire, I knew that the show’s creator, Christopher Storer, was writing this show for me. The first time I ever cooked something on the stove-top, they had to rebuild half of my house. The second time I ever cooked something on the stove-top, they had to rebuild half of my friend.

Even if a fire miraculously doesn’t start when I am cooking, it’s still likely that someone somehow gets burned. You’ve never seen grease and oil explode like a firecracker out of a pan like I have. In fact, it’s gotten so bad that 23 states actually have laws barring stores from selling me cooking oil.

I’m actually good friends with my local fire department. I’ve started so many fires that they now know me on a first name basis. I like to think that my antics help promote firefighter job security. After all, my attempts at cooking have usurped arson as the primary cause of human-initiated fire in my city.

Carmy is so much like me. Sure, I may not have his cooking talent, or actor Jeremy Allen White’s muscular build, good looks, successful career, and lack of being taken to court for almost killing your friend because you left a lit cigarette on the stove top with the gas running, but when Carmy starts a kitchen fire, I feel seen.