“Community” Is Saving Me During Quarantine

I think we can all agree that quarantine has been the most inconvenient thing to ever happen. We aren’t able to see our friends, go to school or even give a simple hug. And all this social distancing that is essentially isolation has made me realize how important social interaction is for my mental health. I miss joking around with my friends during class. I miss studying together in Dirac or Starbucks. And I know I probably won’t be able to do any of those things for a while, but if there is anything that comes close to that kind of interaction, it is the NBC television series “Community.”

I had first heard of the show when Drew Gooden, one of my favorite YouTubers, released a video titled “How (Not) To Revive A Show: Arrested Development Vs. Community.” I had seen “Arrested Development” before, and it’s still one of my favorite shows to this day. But I had never watched “Community” and Drew said it had one of the best revivals for a television show. The only problem was that the sixth season was on a streaming service that no one uses.

I had spent a while trying to figure out where I could watch the show. But it wasn’t on Netflix or Hulu, and I was not going to pay extra money for access to Yahoo Screen. And then one day at the beginning of quarantine, Netflix decided to drop all six seasons of “Community.” I could not believe it. I was so excited, and it did not disappoint.

The show is about a diverse group of seven community college students forming a Spanish study group that results in them being each other’s best friends. Much like my actual friends at FSU, every single one of the characters has a discernable personality trait. And I can almost identify every single trait that each character shares with all of my best friends. 

As mentioned before, the show takes place in a community college so most of the scenes happen in a library. Each episode begins with the study group sitting around in a study room talking about any funny thing that happened to them that day. And every second of it reminds me of all the times I would do that with my friends. There are even scenes in a cafeteria that trigger my memories of eating curly fries and ice cream with my friends at Suwannee.

And I know it’s only been a few weeks since I left campus, but I can’t help but feel nostalgic anytime I watch the show. It makes me feel like I’m back in school with my friends, even though I’m not. And the best part is it is the funniest thing I have ever seen in my life. Some of my favorite episodes are the ones that try to replicate movies with plots such as a school paintball competition or secret chicken finger dealing. Perhaps it was just a coincidence that Netflix decided to stream the show. But regardless of whatever it may be, I’m glad that they did.

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• comedy
• friends
• FSU
• Netflix
• school
• television