Every day was getting worse and worse. I didn’t have any motivation to see my friends, family, or anyone. I locked myself in my room for two weeks straight, not wanting even to exercise. Just solitude and the thoughts in my head were all I knew.
For one of the first times in my life, I was depressed. There had to be a specific reason why I was depressed; I thought to myself.
Nope.
No trigger was the cause of my depressed, cynical state of mind. It was taking over my life. My family would call me to check in on all the fun and exciting projects I was working on. I had very little to say, though.
Informing myself on my current state
Aside from watching YouTube videos on psychology and depression, I decided to check out Netflix. I logged into my ex’s account and saw that The Office was on the recommended for you section.
Digital Identity for Noobs | Data Driven Investor
I had heard so much hype about the show but wasn’t exactly sure why. So I began watching. It started with one episode. Then I would tell myself only one more, but this process repeated itself, and I found myself fully immersed in an office that sells paper.
The show that gives me life
For those who don’t know, The Office is an American mockumentary sitcom television series that depicts the everyday lives of office employees at Dunder Mifflin Paper Company in Scranton, Ohio. The office dynamics between the employees is relatable to most jobs. Whether that be the goofy boss, the office romances, or goofy outings, they’ve got it.
Michael Scott is probably my favorite character because he speaks his mind no matter how blatant it may be. If he retreated from his jokes like a puppy lost in the suburbs, it’d be different. But no, he owns that shit. I felt as though Michael’s comedy and sense of being misunderstood sat well with me at the time.
Michael was asked a question if he would rather be feared or loved. His response was “Both. I want people to be afraid of how much they love me.”
A close second for my favorite character is Jim Halpert. This man’s facial expressions crack me up every time! I wish I had a camera on me so that I could capture my goofy expressions too. I love his witty romantic efforts with Pam since it inspires me to get creative in my cheesy ways.
“It is not a good time for me to lose my job since I have some pretty big long-term plans in my personal life with Pam that I’d like her parents to be psyched about. So, I am about to do something very bold in this job that I’ve never done before: try.” — Jim Halpert.
All the memories I have in an office from selling Cutco came to life after watching the office.
The randomness, lightheartedness, and consistent use of dad jokes made characters of the office part of my life. I felt like I belonged to their little, dysfunctional family.
I felt like I would be accepted into their world, which got me off my very dark path
There is entertainment out there for everyone if they look hard enough. I am not advocating that we devote all of our free-time to Netflix. What I am saying is that we get to choose the worlds we live in through movies and shows in our spare time.
What a day it will be when I run into an actor or actress from that show. Especially if it is Creed, it will feel as though I am being reunited with an old friend from the office. Get it?
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The office saved my life.
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Previously published on Medium.com.
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Photo credit: Pablo Varela on Unsplash
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