In case you haven’t already heard, Friends is airing a long-awaited reunion special in May of 2020 on HBO Max. For die-hard fans of the sitcom, such as myself, Friends is more than just a funny show. There are so many amazing memories that flood my mind when I think about the series, and the upcoming reunion has me reminiscing in all those nostalgic moments.
I remember the first time I saw an episode of Friends. My mom had just come home from Goodwill with the season two DVD set. At first, my sister and I deemed the purchase as another one of the cheesy shows my mom so often watched, but soon enough, curiosity got the best of us as we popped a disk into the DVD player. Two hours and five episodes later, we were hooked. My mom spent the next couple years collecting DVD sets of the other seasons on her Goodwill trips (we have the entire series now!). My sister and I spent those same years working our way through the show’s ten seasons. Even after we watched every episode, those DVD sets were the first things we reached for in times of boredom. I have vivid memories of us staying up until 2 a.m. on school nights rewatching our favorite episodes in the spare bedroom.
My sister was the first person to notify me of the upcoming reunion, sending me Jennifer Aniston’s Instagram post announcing the show’s homecoming. It’s surreal thinking back to those days of watching old Friends episodes with my sister. It feels so long ago. The house we spent hours watching episode-after-episode in has been sold to another family who will now make their own memories in that spare bedroom. By the time the reunion airs, I will have finished my first year of college. Some things never change though: we still have the entire box set of Friends sitting on the shelf below our television, my mom still watches cheesy shows and movies, and my love for the show (and Goodwill finds) remains unwavered.
When I think of Friends, I’m reminded of happy moments in simpler times. I’m sure we all have one thing that brings us back to those parts of our lives. Maybe it’s your childhood teddy bear or the smell of your mom’s homemade chocolate chip cookies. For me, it’s a humorous sitcom following the lives of six friends in New York City.