"One more episode and then maybe I'll get up and ya know... do something with my life?"
That's what we tell ourselves as soon as that, "Are you still watching?" button shows up and we see our zombie-ish reflections in our black laptop screens. To everyone with a working computer and a bank account, Netflix has become an escape from responsibilities and a super reliable wingman. Between all the bullshit we deal with as college students and young adults, its good to find time for an episode (or 20) to take the edge off. We all have that show. The show we watch while nursing a gnarly hangover when we should really be catching up on MyMathLab assignments. The show that makes you feel incredibly lost and empty when it's over like you just lost a family member or something. For you, that show has probably popped into your head already. For me, that show was, still is, and probably forever will be The Office. I took my sweet time to finish this show so I could take in all of its glorious, deadpan humor and all of the incredible moments that came with it. Yes, this show is absolutely hysterical but it also mixes dry humor with real life lessons that make you laugh, cry, think, and then laugh some more. Lets get this list started.
Play is More Important Than Work (sometimes)
Being in college, grades and trying to figure out "what's next?" are of the utmost importance. Sure, the key to being successful in school and life, in general is being able to juggle a bunch of different things at once but sometimes if you focus on one thing too much, it has potential to backfire. I learned that lesson the hard way (yikes). Push your desk chair in. Put the pencil down and step away for a minute. If you don't take a little time to look at where you are and reward yourself for all the things you've accomplished up to this point, you miiiiiiight go crazy. We're still young. It's ok to be spontaneous. Crazy, right? Take a drive to the beach. Stuff your face in the dining hall. Have an olympic competition in your dorm room. Like these guys.
Goodbyes suck (all the time)
One thing we never really get used to in life is saying goodbye. Do they hurt? yes. Are they sad? Without a doubt. But how can we move on to bigger and better things if can't say goodbye? Then we're just stuck right? As much as it hurt Michael to say goodbye to Dunder Mifflin, he knew it was what he had to do in order to move on to bigger and better.
"The one" might be the person you least expected it to be.
Anyone who's ever watched this show knows that Jim and Pam are the couple of the century. One of the things that their relationship so special was watching the journey. From the beginning, Jim had to watch the love of his life be engaged to another man he knew she wasn't happy with (even though she didn't realize it, that's just how much he loved her). All he could do was wait and wait and wait. Don't we all know what that feels like? For four seasons, America watched these 2 start off as best friends and co-workers, and watched a love for the ages unfold right before our eyes. Five seasons later, we saw a rather rainy proposal, a Niagra Falls wedding, and a killer wedding day flash mob set to "Forever" by Chris Brown.
Never Be Afraid to Take the Leap
Let's go back to number 3 for a minute. Yes, Jim patiently waited for his dream girl and admired her from afar for almost half of the show but can you imagine what would've happened if Jim never told her how he felt? That fateful moment at the casino night left us on a cliffhanger spiraling into the sadness of the unknown (wow, that was deep.) Not knowing what's gonna happen next is scary. We find ourselves being so afraid of rejection that we never say what we really feel. Because of this, we miss out on amazing opportunities and live the rest of our lives thinking "woulda, coulda, shoulda, but I didn't." and by then its too late. All it takes is a split second of confidence and you'll be pleasantly surprised with the results you get (or not.)
Whenever There's a Fire, Save The Cat
Dunder Mifflin's resident cat lady, Angela, taught us to focus on the important things. Cats.
Fake it Till Ya Make It
If there was one thing Michael Scott was good at, that thing would be being terrible at everything. But did he let that stop him from being the world's best boss? No. It's completely fine to have no idea what you're doing sometimes. As long as you have a plan of action (kinda) you can figure out the rest along the way. What fun would life be if everything went our way all the time? Making it up as you go as apart of life. Embrace it. Burn it into your brain. Become one with it.
Friends are the Family You Get to Choose. Do It Wisely.
One of the most beautiful things about this show is seeing relationships between the characters grow and how they all became apart of each other's lives in some capacity. No matter how screwed up things got, they always had each other's backs through thick and thin.The Office taught me about love, friendship, and making moments last because we don't know when the moment will end. It's crazy how attached I became to this show. It was almost like the characters became my friends and watching an episode felt like I was checking up on them and seeing what's going on in their lives. You know how a soccer mom feels when her kid scores their first goal? That's what watching this show feels like and I hope after reading this, you'll watch it and understand what I'm talking about.
