Ever since I first created a Netflix account, my boyfriend and best friend had been trying to get me to watch "The Office."
I resisted for months, arguing that I probably wouldn’t find it funny and thought it seemed like a stupid show. However, after my best friend left for college, I found myself missing her and I decided to give it a go, finding comfort in watching the show she loved. Needless to say I finished the series in 12 days and laughed more than I ever have while watching television. While approaching the final episodes of the NBC show, it occurred to me that I had learned a lot from it. So here it is, 10 things "The Office" has taught me:
1. True love waits.
Almost anyone who has heard of the show has heard of the classic Jim and Pam love story. How he waited patiently for her while she was engaged to another man, and then continued to after she called off her engagement, until finally realizing the time was right to date and later marry her. As he stated during a speech at their wedding reception, Jim knew while waiting for Pam he was ultimately waiting for the women he was going to marry.
2. Sometimes bad things lead to good things.
When Dunder Mifflin was bought by Sabre, they fired the CEO, David Wallace. At first this was extremely hard on him, and the viewer saw this when Michael went to visit David at his home only to find him lazing around all day in sweats. David finally got up and put his efforts towards his invention of a machine called Suck It. While it was perceived that the machine wouldn’t sell, the U.S. Military later bought it for $20 million. Wallace was then able to buy Dunder Mifflin from Sabre and put himself back on top, making what seemed like the worst thing to happen to him actually one of the best.
3. Don’t take anything too seriously.
The show is centered around the lighthearted antics of the office environment. Whether it be the jokes Dwight K. Shrute and Jim Halpert play on each other, or the slightly inappropriate interactions Michael Scott has with his employees, the show is anything but serious. "The Office" teaches us to not take things too seriously and they will still work out. The Scranton branch of Dunder Mifflin is one of the few branches to never be shut down or face risk of being shut down, even with all the antics that are played, showing that maybe taking things not so seriously isn’t a bad thing.
4. ...Especially yourself.
Through the show the viewer sees many different aspects of society through the different characters portrayed. Angela, the accountant who takes everything a little too seriously, is one of the characters that never seems to be truly happy. Whether it's when she marries a state senator, who is actually gay, while she’s still in love with Dwight or when she’s perceived as only finding enjoyment from her many cats, the viewer never really learns to love Angela. Maybe it's because in a world full of hardship, she takes herself too seriously and in turn isn’t able to fully enjoy her life.
5. You’re never too old for pranks.
The show, in the beginning seasons especially, is centered around the pranks and antics of Dwight and Jim. Whether it’s the time Jim puts all of Dwight’s desk materials in jello or the time he moved Dwight’s desk to the men’s restroom and made him work from there, it's seen that the jokes brought the two together. While the viewer, for the first few seasons, perceives the two as not getting along, in the latter seasons, even with the pranks, the two seem to really have each other’s backs.
6. Don’t judge a book by its cover.
In the last two seasons, the character Nellie is revealed. While at first the viewer is led to dislike her, it’s later revealed how hard her life really is. She’s in debt, got declined to adopt a child, and even had her long-term boyfriend leave her spontaneously for a waitress. While the office tends to dislike her for trying to replace Andy, she is truly an example of the phrase "don’t judge a book by its cover."
7. Most people have good intentions.
Throughout the first few seasons especially, Michael Scott, regional manager of Dunder Mifflin, is shown to engage in horribly inappropriate and borderline offensive jokes and pranks, though those were never his intentions. While, making offensive and inappropriate jokes is not the answer, Michael is an example of how people sometimes have good intentions but it comes off the wrong way. Michael just so desperately wants to be loved, even proposing to several women on the first few dates, and wants to have a family. He truly cares about his co-workers even though he often shows it in the wrong ways.
8. Laughter is the best medicine.
When Michael is heartbroken and rejected, often the only thing that can get his mind off things are jokes from his co-workers, showing laughter is truly the best medicine. While it doesn’t fix what one is going through, it truly makes things easier and gets your mind off of whatever it is that's bothering you.
9. Never give up on someone you love.
Through the last few seasons, a love sparks between the receptionist, Erin, and salesman/regional manager, Andy. However, they often failed to get the timing right and in season 8, Erin decides to leave Scranton, Pennsylvania, and move to Florida, ultimately to get away from Andy. However, upon finding this out, Andy drives down to Florida and pursues Erin. The last season shows them both happy and in love, exemplifying that you should never give up on someone you love no matter what.
10. Relationships look different to outsiders.
The relationship between Kelly Kapoor and Ryan Howard is one that the viewer never truly understands. Kelly is perceived as a needy and demanding girlfriend, and Ryan is perceived as a man who doesn’t want to settle down or put too much effort into Kelly. However, the two stay together for several seasons in an on-again-off-again relationship. Finally, however, Kelly meets someone who truly cares about her and pursues a relationship with him. In one episode, Ryan tries to win her back, and the office tries to dissuade Kelly from falling back into Ryan’s hands. Ultimately, she doesn’t decide to go back to him and goes with the other man. However, this shows that while the whole office thought they were bad together, the two of them didn’t think that and stayed in the toxic relationship for way too long. Sometimes, listening to others opinions isn’t the way to go, however, in this case it was.
