Candyfloss, Gummy Bears, Friends Reunion - All that's Sweet and Nostalgic.

The second wave of the pandemic has made me look back at some of the old days. I reminisced about summers spent outside of the 4 walls I am currently restricted to, about the little snacks I’d eat as a child, about when I would google “How to make gummy bears at home” and about the times where running around in a park with fresh air made me feel free.

I would go to my city’s local fairs and carnivals with my grandfather and my cousin and every time I went there, I needed to have a candy floss. To me, candy floss was magical I would eagerly wait for it. The way it was woven around a stick so smoothly fascinated me and of course, my favourite colour as a young girl was pink. That just added a bonus point to the whole concept of candy floss. It isn’t just something I ate messily with sticky fingers, it’s something that is associated with a memory of the carnivals, my city and my grandfather. Every time I see candy floss being sold in our streets; I think of him.

I recently watched the friends reunion. Friends is a show I’ve watched every single day for the last few years. You just don’t get tired of it. I think one of the biggest reasons I absolutely love this show is because of its simple ability to make you feel warm inside, to make you feel like all the characters are YOUR friends and to make you feel like you had something to look forward to after a long, hard day.

As I watched the characters walk into the friends set after seventeen years, it brought tears to my eyes. The impact that the show has had on people is truly enthralling. It is therapy.

Watching the reunion was somewhat like a reality check. It made me realize that the show is actually over but being so invested in their lives, I could cry every time I watch Monica propose to Chandler, Ross and Rachel’s first kiss or Joey and Phoebe’s friendship which is truly like no other. The show will never really be over for me.

The writers and directors of the show wanted to give the audience what they wanted for 10 years, and that was for all of them to end up happy wherever they might be.

Often, writers want to create a tragic ending to seem “different” or “unexpected” but looking at the personal connection the viewers had with them, they wanted to do justice to them and for me, that is the greatest thing.

Rachel taught me to take risks and that change is never too late, Phoebe taught me to run, dance and sing like nobody is watching, Monica taught me that being stubborn is okay and that cleaning is fun, Joey taught me that people have different opinions (a moo point) and it’s okay, Chandler taught me to laugh at myself and not take things so seriously, Ross taught me how making an effort can always be worth it.

We see Rachel come to the city as a spoilt, dependent girl and she struggles to get the job she ended up getting.

We see Phoebe coming from a troubled family and a difficult upbringing but she’s happy with the little things in life. We see Chandler as a scared, not so confident person but he can make people laugh no matter what the situation is and by the end of it, he is confident about learning to be a good dad.

We see Joey as somebody who, well stays the same throughout, making us laugh and sigh.

We see Ross never giving up on love even though he’s had multiple divorces and his passion for his work may be made fun of but it’s so real. We see Monica having a difficult relationship with her mother, always being critiqued for not getting married or being the “ideal woman” but she still has hope, she still enjoys her job and always strives to be better, not just in competition with other people but with herself too.

Happy endings are possible when you work for them and make them happen.

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