If you're a millennial, you're a Friends fan. There's just no doubt about it, you have to love this 90s sitcom if you fall into that awesome age category. Because this is honestly the best sitcom around. It holds up super well, even if some things seem dated (ahem, all the outfit and hair choices, and the fact that the characters aren't exactly using MacBooks and iPhones and Tinder). The pilot aired back in September of 1994, which definitely sounds like an entire lifetime ago, but thanks to the glory of Netflix, you can enjoy episodes anytime you want. So naturally, you've spent tons of hungover Sundays and cozy winter nights watching your fave episodes... and even some that maybe aren't quite as amazing. That's how much you adore this smart show. But just because many years have passed since this show was actually on the air doesn't mean that it's totally impossible to relate to it. It's actually the complete opposite. Here are 15 reasons you'll always relate to Friends.
15 You Love Your Friends
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Right off the bat, this is the most clear reason that this show is still so relatable, no matter how much time has passed. You love your own friends and sometimes you even think that you see your friend group in these characters. Maybe you are a Rachel and your BFFs are Phoebes and Monicas... or maybe you are the Phoebe. Which just means that you are the coolest of them all. It's really great to see a show that celebrates, honors and praises true friendship because you know that friends are the keys to having a great, healthy and happy life. You can't be happy if you're fighting with someone in your social circle, and your friends mean the absolute world to you. So you always relate to how much these characters care about each other... even if they do drive each other crazy sometimes. Which is also super relatable.
14 You're Single And Dating
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For most of the show, at least one character is single. It could be Rachel, who's always lamenting how hard it is to meet a decent guy. It could be Monica, who briefly was single in between dating and loving Richard and finally falling for her one true love and soulmate Chandler (awww, it still makes us swoon). It could be Ross or Joey. There was just always one person down in the dumps about their single status, and that's something that you can relate to because you've definitely had times when you were on your own (or maybe that's you right now). But you're not just totally alone, refusing to get out there. You're out there alright and you're trying your best to go on dates and meet someone awesome. That's what these characters are doing, too. You always see Rachel dealing with a new guy in her life -- or totally embarrassing herself, which is more like it. Or you see Joey falling for someone -- even if it's just for one evening.
13 You're Neurotic
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Okay, so you try to hide this fact about yourself on various occasions... like first dates. You never want your dates to realize how totally neurotic you are, at least not right off the bat. They're going to find out soon enough if you end up seeing them -- there's just no hiding your true nature. But that's exactly why you love the characters on Friends. They're super neurotic, no doubt about it. Whether it's Monica obsessively cleaning or Ross being, well, Ross, these characters can be a bit silly and nuts at times. Which is why you adore them so much. These guys prove that it's okay to be completely and utterly yourself, no matter what's going on in your life or what tricky situations you find yourself in. After all, Joey wouldn't be Joey if he wasn't honest to a fault. Sure, he gets into some sticky situations when people realize he's a bit slow sometimes and doesn't usually get what's going on, but that doesn't mean he's stupid. He's just different and he's just himself.
12 You've Had A Crush On A Guy Friend
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Let's be real here: there isn't a girl in this world who hasn't fallen for her guy friend, at least at one time. Maybe in high school, you were secretly in love with your best guy friend and pretty much thought you two were just like Joey or Dawson. Maybe in college you had lots of late-night study sessions with a friend and you kept hoping you two would become something more but it unfortunately never happened. Or maybe you're majorly crushing on a guy friend right now. You still relate to Friends so much since, of course, Monica and Chandler end up together, and Ross and Rachel too. Rachel had to deal with loving her guy friend for so long -- seeing him with other people, wondering if he had really moved on, wondering if it would ever be time for them to finally admit how they truly felt. It's torture and it sucks and it's not fun at all, but it's real life and it happens a lot.
11 You've Embarrassed Yourself
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Everyone has humiliated themselves at one point or another let's be honest here... and it probably happens pretty regularly. It is just impossible to be 100 percent perfect and flawless all the time. You are only human, after all. So when the Friends characters totally embarrass themselves -- Chandler acts like a total fool in front of a boss or really anywhere, or Rachel answers her door wearing a wedding dress and sees the guy she is dating -- you can totally and honestly relate. You love seeing other people embarrass themselves, even if they are fictional because it just makes you feel so much better. Sure, maybe you sent out a work email today and called someone the wrong name (oops) but you at least did not do anything nearly as bad as what Chandler or Rachel did. So you can at least feel pretty proud of yourself about that.
10 You've Had A Crappy Job
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If you've had at least one crappy job in your life, or if you're in one ring now, then you can absolutely relate to Friends... and you probably love Rachel in particular. She's probably your all-time favorite character since it takes her so long to get her dream job or even a job that she even remotely liked. When you first met her, she's a waitress who is pretty broke, and you honestly feel pretty bad for her... because you can 100 percent relate to her struggles of trying to make it in a big city. It's not easy being young and having dreams. When Rachel breaks into the fashion industry and gets her first real grown-up job, it's honestly the best news ever, and you probably cheered right along with her as if she was truly one of your best friends. So whenever you have a crappy day at work or can't believe you still don't have the job that you really want, just remember Rachel's journey and you'll feel comforted and relieved.
9 You Have Zero Filter
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Having no filter is really just a by-product of the social media age, and yet Chandler absolutely did not have one, so this is definitely a pretty timeless thing. As Chandler said once, "I say more dumb things before 9 a.m. than most people say all day." Honestly, who can't relate to that?! It is impossible not to totally and completely agree. You can sometimes sound like a completely ridiculous person before you have had your coffee or truly gotten your day started because who is really awake without their first cup of joe... and sometimes even with coffee, you still cannot help but say crazy stuff. Hey, you are just being yourself, you cannot help it. Everyone is so tired and stressed and overloaded with work these days that it's pretty easy to sound silly and stupid on a regular basis, no matter how smart you truly are. Because you are smart. And so is Chandler. Really.
8 You've Had A Hard Time
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Being a grown-up isn't easy... and unfortunately, although you always try, you can't stop it from happening. At least not entirely. When you feel like adulthood is a total and complete struggle and that you have no idea what you're doing, then you can relate to Friends. So basically, you can relate to it every single day of your life. Just being honest here. This show really gets that your 20s aren't quite the magical journey that people would have you believe. They're really, really hard and they're definitely no walk in the park. You're figuring out who you are, learning what job you want, wondering if it's okay to quit a job you loathe even if you have no other source of income at the moment, trying to meet a decent person to call your own... The list of what you want to happen to you is pretty endless, and you have days that are insanely tough. But that's just part of life... and it's also part of Friends.
7 You Love Food
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On a much lighter note, but still equally as important, Friends is really relatable because the characters honestly love to eat. Monica's a professional chef, after all, and she's always cooking up something good for the gang. And Joey and Chandler are pretty much professional eaters. So that works out pretty perfectly. In this scene, Joey's fridge breaks so he claims that's why he had to really go to town on all the food in there. Pretty hilarious... and pretty relatable too, because you would probably do the same thing, don't lie. Life is hard, adulthood is even harder, but food is forever. That's basically Joey's life motto and it's totally yours, too. Whenever you've had a long hard day at the office, you know that you can order pizza with your all-time favorite toppings and all will be right with the world... and you also know that a Netflix session isn't complete without the best snacks possible. Yup, food is pretty crucial to your life.
6 Your Friends Are Your Family
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There are friends -- people you choose, people you don't have to deal with if you don't want to. And then there are family -- people you definitely don't choose to spend time with, and people that usually drive you nuts. It's easy to see why some people prefer their friends, right? Jokes aside, Friends really proves that your friends are ultimately your family, especially as you enter your 20s and get older. Maybe you're living super far away from your parents and siblings, or even if you're still in your hometown, you're living on your own and definitely separating from them. Your relationships are really important now and you can't possibly survive this crazy world without your best friends. So this sitcom is a lot smarter than it seems at first glance and it has some pretty crucial lessons to teach you, like this one: cherish your friends because they're always there for you.
5 You've Chosen Your Own Path
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If it's been a while since you saw the first season, let alone the pilot, you might forget how this show ultimately begins: with Rachel deciding not to get married and joining the friend group. That's a pretty big deal, even if now you're so used to seeing characters leaving guys at the altar and deciding to be single and live their own life. But since the pilot aired in the fall of 1994, this was a pretty ground-breaking idea. It's pretty cool that Rachel decides that she wants to work in fashion in NYC and that she can't possibly become a wife, at least not right now. If you've chosen your own path, and you probably have, then you can 100 percent relate to Rachel... but you can relate to the rest of the characters, too, because they're all following their dreams in their own way. Ross is doing his nerdy academic thing, Joey is following his acting dreams, Monica is following her culinary ambitions, Phoebe is singing about smelly cats. And Chandler? Well, who knows what Chandler does.
4 You Hate Who Your Friends Date
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The character of Janice provides some true comic relief on this show. How can you ever forget about her? Especially with her annoying (sorry) voice. That laugh. That hair. Oy. Double oy. The relatable part? How the other characters feel about her... aka they honestly can't stand her, not even for a single second. You can totally relate because you never really like the guys that your friends are dating. Okay, scratch that, you usually completely hate them. You can't help it, you can just never see what your friends possibly see in these guys. They always seem like total losers and jerks and you're always confused that your friends can't see that. They're smart people, so why are they dating these guys? Ugh, its crazy confusing. It's bad enough that Chandler dated Janice once... but the gang soon realizes that they haven't gotten rid of her forever because she returns.
3 You Have Flaws
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You love the characters on Friends literally because they have flaws, and that is pretty cool. That's what makes them seem so real. Honestly, if they stepped out of your TV and into your life, you wouldn't even bat an eye or break a sweat because that's how totally real and human they seem. You love Rachel but you have to admit that she's pretty ditzy sometimes. Same goes for Phoebe. And Phoebe likes to live with her head in the clouds and she's not always realistic (okay, she never is). Chandler and Joey are pretty immature, and Ross acts like a real baby when he doesn't get his way. Let's not even get started on how anal Monica can be. But that's okay, because you have flaws too, and you're not a totally perfect person. You would be boring if you were flawless, though, so it's really all good.
2 Life Surprises You
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Who would have thought that Chandler and Monica would end up together, living happily ever after... or that Chandler would even fall in love at all?! Definitely not most people who watched the pilot and the first season or so. Friends proves that life will surprise you, and that's why you have to keep going and keep believing that good things are going to happen to you, even if it may not seem like it right now. Well, especially if it doesn't seem like it right now. You can see that with Ross and Rachel's relationship, too. It's so on-again, off-again and there's so much pain and suffering and struggling there, and there are times when it honestly seems like there's no way they're going to get together again. But, of course, they do, and while it's not super shocking, it is a bit of a surprise that they can finally get over their issues and themselves.
1 You Have To Laugh
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Ultimately, this show really gets that when life gets tough, which is pretty much every single day, you have to laugh. Laugher is the best medicine, as they always say, and it's also a daily necessity if you want to survive life with your sanity intact. Thankfully, this show is absolutely hilarious, and it always reminds you to keep laughing and keep trying to live your best life ever. You can't surround yourself with super negative people who never crack a smile and hate to laugh because that's just not going to get you anywhere. You definitely want and need funny friends. So if you have that, and you have your fictional Friends who you can visit on Netflix anytime that you want, you're doing pretty well. You're basically living the best life ever. Now you want to start another binge, right? We totally support that decision. In fact, we're right there with you.
