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New Girl’s got me in more than just the feels

The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UNT chapter.

Rom Coms are for more than just comedy, they are a reminder to be me.

*spoilers beware*

The light-hearted and eclectic group that makes up apartment 4-D, met my television after needing a change of TV scenery. While my Tik Tok for you page full of New Girl fans reminiscing on Nick and Jess, Cece and Schmidt, or Winston and Aly’s relationships created a desire to rerun the seasons on my Netflix account, it was more than that for me to click power on my remote.

As I am nearing the end of my second year in college and reaching the halfway point of my college career, I am closing in towards my adult reality. Fear meets all of us one way or another about growing up, and a desire to not fail and keep on one linear path can be hard. For a moment, I wanted to forget about the stress of life and find my way into a TV fantasy land in my feelings over the cute little moments that New Girl provides fans. Balancing cringe and cute in a way that keeps you wanting to watch for more, speak to Rom Coms just as New Girl does, but the show also provides fans like me some good reminders to take on your life journey, just as I forgot and needed to hear as we close out the weekend.

  1. Starting over can be scary but well worth it
    • Take Jess having to move in with Nick, Schmidt, Coach, and Winston after a major breakup or when Jess got fired and had to find a new job. While its important to take time for self care like Jess did, you to still can move forward no matter where you are in your life. You can pull yourself up, move forward, and with hard work still get exactly where you want to go no matter where your at in life.
  2. Do what makes you happy, but be reasonable
    • Nick is a great example of a character who struggles to find the balance that is taught to younger generations that comes to being an adult. He abandoned his career goals of becoming a lawyer becomes a bartender and tries to write a book. For a lot of the series he struggles to motivate himself to write his book, and in turn also struggles with becoming financial stable as he tends to spend money irrationally and is in debt. While its reasonable when your on your own to be carefree, he’s also a good reminder to make sure to pay back your debt and parking citations when you can, for instance when you come across a lucky day where you get $8000.
  3. Being different or “weird” can still get you that happy ending
    • Take Jess presented to viewers as a quirky, singing, women who for the first season Schmidt, Nick, and Winston try to get Jess to dull down her personality. This can be seen when Nick brings Jess as a plus one to a wedding in which he tells her to not be herself, but eventually relents after a minor breakdown, and all the guys have fun dancing it out with her on the wedding’s dance floor. She gets a happy ending, with a wedding and a child with Nick and this shows that no matter how weird we may feel or out of touch with society, there is a possibility that you to can get that happy ending you dream about.

Rerunning four seasons binging through cookies was never my intention this weekend, but I’m glad I did. New Girl gave me much of what I, like you, may need to hear to push forward after midterm week.

Hello! I am a current UNT student studying to get my major in Journalism with a concentration in Public Relations and minoring in Marketing. My involvement in Her Campus was a result of my alignment with women's empowerment and my love for connecting with others. Besides spending majority of my time as a college student or working, I love to watch Marvel movies, paint, visit new places, and eat mac and cheese!