An Ode of 'New Girl'

There is this little sitcom on Fox called New Girl. Maybe you’ve heard of it. It stars Zooey Deschanel and has been on for six seasons now. Well, this show is about to air its final season and it has me feeling very sentimental.

I am a 20-year-old film student that spends virtually all her free time watching TV shows. I have seen almost every show under the sun- everything from The IT Crowd to American Horror Story—and yet, I realized something the other day… New Girl is the only show (that has been on for more than five years) that I have watched from the very beginning. Most shows I binge watch a few seasons in, or even start after a few episodes have aired, but with New Girl, I remember watching the very first episode even before it aired on TV. See, iTunes released the pilot a few days early for free, so naturally I thought I’d give it a viewing. I can tell you honestly that there is a really special bond that forms between one and a show when you spend week after week for six years watching new episode after new episode. It’s like knowing someone from the day they were born. Whereas, with a show like Parks and Rec, I only got to know them when they were already off their training wheels.

As I watched the show, through the nearly constant laughing, I realized that I related quite a bit to Jess. I, too, have huge, thick framed glasses, am too innocent for my own good, and constantly sing to myself. And I didn’t realize it then as a 13-year-old, but I, too, LOVE a good pink wine.

There is something so powerful about seeing someone so much like yourself on screen. It is so gratifying. It makes you feel seen, and even more, it makes you feel comfortable in your own skin. Some people criticize Jess for being this ridiculous, two-dimensional idea of a quirky girl, but let me tell you—she exists. I am her and I am NOT a two-dimensional concept. I am a woman who loves crying over my favorite movies and writing musical numbers about my day. I like to share my feelings with the people I love and I am absolutely and totally awkward in the most basic social situations. And can I just say, seeing someone like me be the hero of the story and gaining love and success means everything.

Season seven is only a few months away and I am feeling more and more distraught with every passing day. Suddenly these characters are going to be gone and I will have nothing left of them, but the memory of what they used to be. Eventually I won’t even be able to laugh at the old episodes because I will have seen them so many times. But, I suppose that is just the way of the world. Things can never last forever and all one can do in the end is find happiness in the memories of yesterday.

So, I want to say thank you to New Girl. Thank you for giving me someone to relate to. Thank you for making me laugh. Thank you for always being there. I know you are just a TV Show, but to me you will always be so much more. It was so nice growing up with you—when the world was making me feel like a weirdo, you made me feel cool. You made me feel like I could be the hero of my own story—just as I am. I will always be grateful for you.