The best part about this school year for me has undoubtedly been moving into an apartment with three of my favorite people in the world. Living with the people you hang out with is nothing if not convenient, but it’s ideal especially right now because going out and visiting people is still a problem area. To pass the time together, we usually pile onto the couch with a good pasta dish and binge either bad reality TV or quirky sitcoms, and our current obsession with New Girl has gotten us through the entire series in about two weeks. But as we tell Netflix that we’re still watching after 4 hours, and reality starts to blend with the fictional Los Angeles lifestyle, I realized that our apartment’s roommate dynamic has a lot of similarities to that of Jess, Nick, Schmidt, and Winston. While not exactly the same, here’s a comprehensive list of who’s who in my apartment and which original New Girl roommate character they are.
- Nick – Bella
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Of course I’ve got to start with everyone’s favorite apathetic and sarcastic bartender. Nick can read other’s emotions really well, but often has a hard time expressing his own. He really enjoys his privacy, loves sports, will do anything to save money, but is overall defined by how good of a friend he is to have around. If you just swapped Bella’s name for Nick in that description, nothing else would have to change for it to remain accurate. She’s like the emotionally intelligent and slightly-more-functional version of Nick. Their personalities are eerily similar, as she will be the first to call herself an unsuccessful adult because she refuses to eat fruit. Although we make fun of her for her irrationally dramatic fear of aging and not wanting people to “perceive her emotionally,” just like Nick, she is one of the most loyal people we know and we’re lucky to have her around.
- Winston: Emilia
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Winston brings the oblivious and completely random comedic relief in nearly every situation, and if that doesn’t describe Emilia, I don’t know what does. Winston’s goofy attitude may be his primary character trait, but all the other characters tend to lean on him for advice. I can’t think of a single time that one of us had a big decision to make that we didn’t run by her first. Winston’s eccentric interests also align with Emilia to a T. His love for bubble baths, cats, and musicals is something the two of them share. He’s generally considered to be the loveable and reliable weirdo of the group who never fails to get a laugh. It clicked for me that this was exactly like Emilia when she proudly presented us with a horrendously dysfunctional oven mitt in the shape of the Thanos glove from the Avengers after we had asked her to purchase some stuff for the kitchen. While both odd, life would be dull without them.
- Schmidt: Keegan
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Schmidt has his problematic moments in the beginning, but when he learns to work on himself he blossoms. He runs a tight ship; he knows exactly what he wants to be done and he is not shy about expressing it, just like Keegan. You never have to guess what Keegan is thinking because she will tell you. He’s also the most fashionable, and it is a rare occasion that all of us are not in awe of Keegan’s outfits as she leaves for class. Both of them are also always open to trying new things and nothing is off the table for them. Keegan’s stories are NEVER boring and we all are lucky enough to be able to listen to them. Best of all, both of their honest personalities ground the rest of their roommates, and it’s safe to say that the rest of them would be hard pressed to stay afloat without them around.
- Jess – Izzy (me)
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Lastly, we have me and the quirky Jess Day. Everything about Jess’ personality points to her being a teacher, and that can easily be said about me too. She’s loud, bubbly, constantly singing, overly optimistic, and has comically thick-framed glasses (that are nearly identical to mine) that really showcase our similarities. She’s also the “mom friend” figure to her roommates while also somehow being kind of a mess. While she can be a bit of a know-it-all, she means well, and her roommates love and support her no matter what, and I think it’s safe to say that my roommates feel the same way about me too.
I always used to poke fun of the tenants of apartment 4D because they only ever hang out with each other, but now I totally understand it. Having my best friends three steps away at any given time to do homework with or play a game means we’re never bored, but everyone is respectful of each other and gives each other space when we need. It’s created such a productive and healthy environment that I love living in. We all balance each other out and there’s always a new adventure to be had. Who knows, maybe we’ll make our own sitcom sometime!