“Sometimes I’ll start a sentence, and I don’t even know where it’s going. I just hope I find it along the way.” –Michael Scott
This quote from Dunder Mifflin Paper Company’s Regional Manager Michael Scott (Steve Carrell) is hilarious and the epitome of how he thinks and acts. It is also a perfect description of my life’s journey (and probably yours, too).
All good things come to an end.
Employees of Scranton, Pennsylvania’s favorite paper company, Dunder Mifflin, officially closed their doors on May 16th, 2013. NBC and the people behind the U.S. version of “The Office” pulled the plug after 9 seasons.
You can watch the series finale here: http://www.nbc.com/the-office/video/finale/n37001/.
When I first heard the news that it was cancelled, I was heartbroken. “The Office” has been one of the most sustaining forces in my life from high school through college to now. Friends, favorite cocktails, and baseball gloves come and go, but the “The Office” has always been there for me. What was I going to do? I hate goodbyes.
The 3rd Floor.
I remember first watching it early in high school on the 3rd floor of my friend Jackson’s house. He was lucky enough to have TiVo, so we could watch it whenever we wanted, on demand. I immediately fell in love with the show. The deadpan, subtle, and painfully awkward moments fell into the wheelhouse of my kind of humor. The characters were all so unique and bizarre, yet surprisingly relatable. I knew I had found something special.
What I didn’t realize was that “The Office” would help shape who I am today.
“The Office” taught me about me.
Lesson #1: I love psychology.
After reflecting on my favorite episodes of “The Office,” it became very apparent to me that most of my favorite episodes featured psychological principles.
One of the best examples of this is in the episode called “The Negotiation” when Michael Scott looks up psychological negotiating tactics and strategies to gain an edge over an employee looking to get a raise.
Michael employing his tactics: http://youtu.be/zDp-KA7-hnY
You knew me before I knew me, “The Office.”
Lesson #2: Stop wasting time.
The charming “normal guy,” Jim Halpert (John Krasinski), is continually worried that his career is going nowhere at Dunder Mifflin. *Spoiler ahead* Similar to Jim’s decision in later seasons of “The Office” to leave Dunder Mifflin, I realized that the direction I was heading was not for me. Like I said, I still use psychology all the time, but I knew I had to stop following psychology and start following my dream of becoming a professional voice over talent. You can read about it more here.
Are you following your dream, or are you letting it die at Dunder Mifflin?
Lesson #3 (most important): All good things come to an end for a reason.
Like I said before, I’m bad at goodbyes. I hate saying it, and I hate doing it. Admittedly, I usually cry (either in front of the other person or by myself when I’m driving my car) when saying goodbye to someone. The biggest lesson “The Office” has taught me is that saying goodbye is necessary for personal growth.
“The Office” played a huge role in my life. It made me yell, smile, cry, and laugh all at once. It helped me figure out who I am. I hate saying goodbye to such a big part of my life, but it’s a necessary step I must take. Its ending marks the start of a different phase of my life. I am ending my “emerging adulthood” phase and am beginning the phase of a true, professional, responsible, and awesome adult.
I may not want to say goodbye, but I have to to keep moving forward. You, the reader, need to learn how to say goodbye, too. Your growth depends on it.
(Plus, there are tons of new, awesome shows popping up all the time like Parks and Recreation, Sherlock, and Mad Men.)
My official goodbye.
Like Michael said, I don’t know where the sentence (my life) is going, but I hope to figure it out along the way. To continue growing and figuring it out along the way, I have to say goodbye to “The Office.”
Goodbye and thanks for teaching me about me, Michael, Dwight, Jim, Pam, Creed, Stanley, Phyllis, Angela, Angela’s cats, Kevin, Oscar, Meredith, Kelly, Ryan, Toby, Andy, Jan, Erin, and everyone else.
Here are numerous cast members continuing their own sentences and saying goodbye to the fans, fellow cast members, and crew of “The Office.”
Yes, I cried.
Turn that frown upside down! Here are some classic face offs between Jim and Dwight:
Series finale here: http://www.nbc.com/the-office/video/finale/n37001/.
What shows have taught you about you?
Have you learned to say goodbye to important things in your life so you can keep growing and moving forward?
Thanks for reading!
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