Dear Friends…

You feel more familiar to me than our short period of acquaintance should allow. You started off as the show that had me on the edge of my seat until the very end, wondering “ how it would end ”- later turning into a “ why it ever would ”. Eventually, you transformed into my sole source of comfort on days I realised I had messed up my board exams; you’ve been a rollercoaster of emotions, and with each emotion passing by, only nestled closer to heart.

You debuted in 1994, ran your decade-long course, and even concluded before I, at fifteen, almost critically sat down to watch you because you were my first sitcom. Over the past few months, you, at countless occasions, broke the vow of being a sitcom - whether through Phoebe’s heart-rending encounter with her supposedly dead mother, or Monica’s poignant farewell to her dream of motherhood. Then somehow, triumphantly, made up using Chandler’s relentless jokes and Joey’s infectious naivety and optimism. 

I wasn’t looking forward to understanding characters nearly twice my age so deeply - especially Phoebe Buffay. Phoebe's endearingly eccentric spirit - written by Marta and David, and brought to life by you, Lisa Kudrow, using her guitar, her psychic readings and loyalty to her friends - is beautiful enough to inhabit more than just a corner of my heart.

The depiction of either of the characters - usually Ross - incessantly fumbling in life is amusing yet solacing, in the most heartfelt way. A constant reminder that the more you mess up, the more memories you create. But that’s not where the reminders end; Rachel portrays how often emotional strength looks like vulnerability whereas Joey repeats that while life continues to get more complex, happiness still lives in its simpler, smaller fragments. Together, they carry the remembrance that no matter how brutally life darts lemons at you, the right people stick along, until and after you’ve managed to turn it into a lemonade.

The variation in the characters’ natures didn’t stop me from stepping into each of their shoes. I could feel and relate with each one, even as they evolved over a span of ten seasons.  It was Chandler who failed to arrange the furniture according to Monica’s liking, but we who felt the terror. Ross was the one whose paleontology tales failed to intrigue anyone, and while I felt his pique, I also agreed with the collective, justified disinterest of the other five. And this, is why I love each one of these fictional souls. They get me, I get them. I see their humour evolve while my friends see mine. Wait- that makes us friends, too, doesn’t it?

Thank you, Friends. Thank you Marta Kauffman and David Crane. Thank you Lisa, Courteney, Jennifer, Matthew, Matt, and David. 

Love you all, way too much,

Pari.

Pari Agarwal is a student in Grade 11, studying in Sanskriti The Gurukul, Guwahati.

This love letter was shortlisted as one of the top 10 entries of our 3rd Writing Contest - writing a love letter to a piece of media you adore.