The Office Farewell

A lot of people don't understand my love for The Office, and that's okay. Yes, I know it's a television show and that the characters are not real. Nevertheless, they are my friends.

I started watching The Office at the beginning of season 2 and never stopped. I've seen the first five seasons at least six or seven times by now. When I started watching, Michael was just painful. Pam was still engaged to Roy. Jim hid out at his desk with no goals. Now they all have families and goals that I never could have imagined.

I know it's scripted that way, but the mockumentary style makes you feel like you're in the moment. There has never been a fourth wall to separate us. Jim looked into the camera and told us about his feelings for Pam before anyone else knew. Michael told us his deepest secrets. We knew about Dwight and Angela's relationship before anyone else. It felt like the audience was part of the family, because we were.

I watched with baited breath as Jim finally confessed his feelings to Pam at the end of season two, only for her to turn him down. Now they have two children.

I watched their lives unfold just as mine did. I took them to high school and then undergrad and then to graduate school. There was one particular time in my life that I didn't want to share with other people. I felt so alone and unsure about everything. I spent most of that time in my room with the door closed. I figure everyone thought I was sleeping, but I never slept. I watched The Office over and over. (Thank God for Netflix) Sometimes, you just need to forget about what's going on in reality and just laugh. The Office gave that to me. How many times can one person watch "Stress Relief"? I might hold the record. It's impossible to think about your own problems with all that nonsense happening. Since that time, I use The Office to get over all of my bad days.

If The Office has taught me anything, it's patience. You think Jim and Pam took forever? I've been a Dwangela fan since that barbecue in season two, and it's taken them up until last week to finally make it work. These people are in their 30s and 40s, and some of them are still unsure about what they're doing. Even Dwight Schrute gets everything in the end, including his dream job.

The Office proves that some families aren't tied together by blood. They all have this strong connection to one another, just because of where they work. Michael considered all of them to be family. I think the series even ends on a wedding. It's more than just a workplace comedy. It's a coming of age story and a family drama, too.

It's just everything. Not only to me. To a lot of people.

The Office taught me how to wait, how to love, how to follow my dreams, how to prank people, and how to spot budding romances with hardly any clues.

This show has meant a lot to me over the years, and I can't wait to see how it ends. I'm thankful for the incredible time I've had along the way. What a long, strange trip it's been.