As a senior now into my second semester, I've found that I have little to do but wait on colleges and pretend to stress about mundane school work. While I'd like to tell you that I've been using that time to develop a cure for Osteoporosis and rescuing the endangered frogs of the Amazon, I've really been spending a lot of time catching up on my beloved sitcoms. Friends, How I Met Your Mother, anyone? And while many would argue that this time I've been using eating snacks and contributing to the corny symphony that is the laugh-track is a waste of time, I've found that it has been a lot more than that. As somebody who has trouble sitting still, I find this hour I spend watching something light-hearted and witty, comforting and even therapeutic. I'm allowed to escape into a world where every joke is laughed at and every problem is solved within the span of 30 minutes. This is a world where a tight-knit group of friends never seem to abandon each other but support one another through what appear to be useless and unessential problems, yet at the end of the day are very relatable. I currently find myself asking "What would Sheldon or Barney say?" In daily life situations, or I find myself pondering how a sitcom writer would solve one of my problems. Would they have a new hot guest-star come in to be my new love interest? Would I be rejected by the college of my dreams only to find it was all meant to be in the end? Whatever they so choose I guarantee would be both entertaining and good for my character development as a whole. It is easy to say that I wish that my life was a sitcom. Now if I had my choice, my life would be a mixture of Frasier and Seinfeld. I would want the ruthless and yes, even bitchy wit of Frasier and Niles combined with the "nothing-ness that somehow becomes something" ideals of Seinfeld. I would want my life sitcom to be written by someone who was dry and clever and who also had a big heart. Someone who would care about the characters as much as I would. People I idolize and those who I despise would make one-episode appearances but the original cast would remain constant. The story would be both mind-blowing and something everyone could relate to. The story line would turn the mundane into the incredible and the sorrowful into the funny. I would want people to rush home to see it. Is that too much to ask out of my very own sitcom? Or maybe even out of my own life?
I think that it's easy to be afraid that our lives will only have 15 minutes of fame rather than a memorial of all the seasons posted on Netflix. We all want a life that we will remember, look back on, and have a video montage of our best moments with "Time of Our Lives" by Green Day playing in the background. Or is that just me? Something we are all looking for are ground-breaking moments and heart-felt lines that can keep us going to the next episode and even season. What we must realize is that a sitcom is not based on the set, the lines, or even the story-line. It is the characters who make the show. It's these roles who we want to see get married and be happy. We relate to them and they speak to all of us differently. So I think that it is important that we are all stars of our own sitcom. That even if there isn't an incredible guest-star or a ground breaking salary present we can continue in our own character's path. We can develop ourselves and create the set and audience that we wish to see. And while not every single one of our jokes will be laughed at or our problems last longer than half an hour, we can know that we are in the giant sitcom of life, and the people surrounding us are better than any studio audience.
Image: fanpop.com From New Girl, her name is Jess and she is the star of her own show. I found it fitting.
