JESS DAY, THE ULTIMATE MILLENNIAL

As rain and cold have decided here to stay, it's become apparent that I watch far too much television.

I am a TV yoyo dieter. Summer is my diet period, I like to hoard my favorite shows for winter. So that I can binge myself half to death on a show when the days are getting shorter, watch episode after episode in one night sittings until I'm lying in the coach in the dark wrapped in a blanket at 4 in the morning, red eyes dry and itchy, muttering incoherently to my boyfriend that I really will come to bed after this episode and staring at a flickering screen with a brain incapable of registering any more of shopaholic Carrie Bradshaw, or, a new favorite, quirky Jess Day.

Aside from extreme sleep deprivation, there is another side-effect. I always get the unnatural propensity to identify with the characters in tv-shows. For example, I do think that every aspect of Carrie's relationships is applicable to my own relationships or to those of my friends. Of course, this is what scriptwriters want. To identify with a character is often to like a character. Liking is watching, which means money. Although Carrie always felt relatable, there always remained a distance. She was a woman in her thirties figuring it all out. I was only a teenager/ twenty-something.

However when New Girl was announced, I was instantly intrigued by Zooey Deschanels character. And after three seasons, all I can think while watching the show is: "Oh my god, she's me." "My girlfriends are her." "My friend X is Schmidt." "Z is certainty Nick." Etc. This recognition is what makes New Girl for a lot of twenty-somethings such a good show. This young group of friends is simply us.

Jess embodies the "Millennial struggle" and is the poster child for not having your life fully together. She is a 20-something that moves in with three random guys because she needed a place to live after a breakup. Relatable? Uhm yeah, living on your own isn't affordable any longer these days.

She had a job, until she's laid off. Unemployment and underemployment aren't so uncommon for Millennials, and the characters on New Girl really speak true to that unfortunate reality. A major part of your twenties involves a struggle to find out where you want to go with your career. I think I, miss I-don't-know-what-to-do-with-my-life, can raise my hand here.

She has a dating life but isn't in a serious relationship. Jess' love life ranges from insanely romantic to downright awkward. While she may keep things casual, in the end she fears she's going to die alone and worries about her eggs rotting. I think most of my girlfriends can raise there hands here for feeling the same way. 

Still, PMSing sucks.

Moral of the show. No one in their 20s has it figured out. If you think you do, you're just fooling yourself. Challenge, conflict and struggle, that's the storyline for all of us. I am curious about how Jess' story will proceed. And of course my own. 

Do you watch the show? And do you relate?