the one with FRIENDS

She's Going Somewhere

it’s wednesday again, which means it’s time for another episode of she’s going somewhere.

coming up with something to write about this week turned out to be a little harder than i expected. i’ve already shared quite a few posts over the past few days, and i’m starting to worry that i might be turning into one of those bloggers who never stops yapping. but since i made a commitment to myself to keep this little project going, i’m showing up with another post anyway.

a lot has happened this week, and i’ve already talked about some of it in my recent posts, so i don’t want to keep repeating myself. instead, i thought i’d talk about something that has quietly become part of my everyday life: my comfort series, friends.

whether i’m having a meal, working on my blog, or doing pretty much anything else, there’s a good chance friends is playing somewhere in the background. and lately, i’ve started to wonder just how much time i actually spend watching this show. but before i get into that, let me tell you how it all started.

i actually only started watching friends at the end of 2022. at the time, i was visiting my sister in germany. i stayed with her and her husband for three months, and they had this habit of keeping friends on the tv as background noise while they went about their day.

at first, i found it a little strange. for one thing i kept thinking, "how can you watch the same tv show all the time? don’t you ever get bored?" and secondly, i had never actually watched friends before. i had only seen random clips online. some of them were funny, sure, but not enough to make me want to sit down and watch the whole series.

that changed after i spent those three months living with my sister and being exposed to friends almost every single day. somewhere along the way, i started to find it comforting.

and i have to admit, friends isn’t necessarily the funniest sitcom ever made. but being funny isn’t the only thing that makes you love a sitcom.

what i love most about friends is its ambience.

there’s something incredibly comforting about watching it. there’s this sense of familiarity whenever i see the six of them sitting together in monica’s apartment, talking about whatever problems they’re having, interrupting each other, making jokes, and generally just being themselves. sometimes it feels like i’m the seventh friend sitting there with them, quietly joining the conversation.

the show has also helped me improve my english, and i know there are plenty of people out there who can relate to that, having learned a lot of english from watching friends too.

what i only really started noticing this week though, is just how much i watch this show. it’s honestly ridiculous. i remember finishing the last episode of season 10 sometime last week, but somehow, here i am today, already halfway through season 5 lol.

sometimes i feel like i should be watching more movies or trying out different series, partly because i want to expand my pop-culture references and actually know what people are talking about when they mention films or tv shows. i used to do that a lot more around 2020–2021, when i was watching quite a lot of movies.

but lately, whenever i open netflix or hbo, somehow i always end up going back to friends.

a couple of months ago, i even tried watching one tree hill. i made it all the way to the beginning of season four, and then stopped. i still haven’t continued it.

maybe part of the problem is that i’m very much team brucas, and i already know where the series eventually goes. knowing that has made it surprisingly difficult to find the motivation to keep watching TT

so maybe friends really is my comfort show for a reason. there’s something nice about knowing exactly what you’re going to get. no emotional preparation required, no wondering what happens next. just six familiar faces, a familiar apartment, familiar jokes, and a little bit of background noise while i go about my own life.

maybe i’ll get around to watching something new soon, but for now, i’m happy to stay right here with my six favourite new yorkers.

xoxo,

your local girl