When I first started watching "The Office," I was just looking for a little entertainment to take me away from the stress of classes and work. The quick, 22-minute episodes provided the perfect excuse for me to fit one or two of them in as I folded laundry or ate lunch. I even began to clean my room more often just so I could turn on another episode. The show quickly lived up to its hype—I was hooked.
If you aren't familiar, the show's concept is a documentary featuring an average paper company in a bland Pennsylvania town. The characters know they're being filmed, and at the end of the whole show, the cast gets together to watch their past nine years together. One character, Pam Halpert, played by Jenna Fischer, really struck me in one of her last scenes in the show. (Spoiler alert: Stop now if you're in the middle of watching.) Pam's final interview with the documentary crew is honestly something we all need to hear:
"I didn't watch the whole documentary. After a few episodes, it was too painful. I kept wanting to scream at myself. It took me so long to do so many important things. It's just hard to accept that I spent so many years being less happy than I could have been. Jim was five feet from my desk, and it took me four years to get to him. Not that I'm a tragic person; I'm really happy now, but it would just make my heart soar if someone out there saw this, and she said to herself, 'Be strong, trust yourself, love yourself and conquer your fears. Just go after what you want and act fast because life just isn't that long.'"
What a point she makes. I came to this show looking for laughs and distraction, and here I was questioning everything and feeling strangely motivated to go take some crazy risk or make a bold romantic declaration. Well played, "The Office" writers.
Imagine being able to watch a documentary of your life—all the big and small changes you went through, failures, meltdowns, and triumphs. What things would make you cringe? What actions of yours would make you roll your eyes? What would you be proud of?
By the time I had worked my way through nine seasons (two days and 17 hours of material to be exact), I realized I was internalizing some real life lessons. Amidst all the antics and pranks and chaos that make "The Office" the success it is, I began to learn about the type of people I would like to have in my life and the type of person I hope to become.I watched Pam grow from someone who sat by and let life happen into someone who knew who she was and wasn't afraid to let others know. She got me thinking, and hopefully she did the same for you, whether you're just reading this article or you've watched every minute of the show. Pam showed me that risk, a lot of the time, is going to be a heck of a lot better than regret.
