A "Community" Streets Ahead

The return of the NBC comedy Community was just announced after a near 2 month hiatus to the absolutely bliss of Community's intensely loyal fans.  The comedy was pulled from NBC's Thursday lineup due to low ratings.  But this is the age of technology and the voice of the common man (or woman) has never been heard so loud in all of history.  We live in a time when social media, such as Twitter and Facebook is king.  Community itself references many of these forms of media throughout show, as it is a comedy constantly using spoofs and pop culture homages to from a backbone of comedy.  The fans of the show are naturally good as using these outlets because it is what they enjoy to do, and it is one of the reasons they watch and love the show.  Consequently, these fans, (myself being one of them) were not going down without a fight.  We fought to save the shows life using whatever we could such as Twitter hashtags like #SaveCommunty, and #Sixseasonsandamovie to get the attention of NBC and let them know that this show is important to us and there is a dedicated (albeit small) fan base who will not let our favorite show die.  Well it seems our efforts may not have been in vain.

That being said, I will get to the point of this blog post.  As, some might call us, "hardcore" fans of Community we are obviously ecstatic that our show has found its way back into the mainstream, but it leaves us with some unanswered questions, like what has changed?   For some reason that we as fans do not understand, Community did not gain the attention of the masses the way we all thought it was deserving of.   It has amassed many positive reviews and critics have praised the show for being one of the most innovative, original, and best written on television, which we already know,  but so many others have failed to realize.  Because of these facts, we really don't want Community to change.  We obviously want new episodes and want to see character development, but we don't want to lose what has made Community such a classic show.  We don't want to lose the awkward meta-humor and nerdy movie and TV show parodies.  We don't want to lose the connections that we have all made with these characters, and the sense of "community" that we have developed with other fans of the show.  We do however, want the show to continue and not be taken off the air again, so whether we like it or not, we might have to stop isolating potential fans by using these "inside jokes" from the show that we have come to know and love.  Just because the fan's of the show are "streets ahead" for having recognized the potential of the show from early on, it does't mean we can't be a growing community of fans.  Community has, and will hopefully continue to do things right.  So it is our responsibility as fans to embrace new ones and find ways to help them connect with this crazy, insane group of misfits we know as Jeff, Britta, Annie, Troy, Abed, Shirley, Pierce, and yeah even Chang, that we can so easily identify with.  If we want our favorite TV show continue to be just that, we need to find new creative ways to develop new fan bases so we can all enjoy this truly remarkable show, and become our own real life "community."

The Pursuit of Happiness

Its interesting how everyone goes through life seeking something, whether it be money, a job, love, religion or something else, it doesn't matter.  Why do people seek these things?  The answer will invariably be that they are looking for happiness in their life.  They believe if they find all these things that it will lead to a happy life.  But what ultimately does lead to happiness?  This is a question that I have been seeking an answer to for a while now.  There have been times in my life when I have definitely felt 'happy' for a period of time, but its always fleeting and it never lasts.  So I ask myself, "what am I doing when I feel those bursts of happiness?" Usually its when I am with my friends.  Sometimes its when I feel connected to God in a personal way.  Other times its because I am with my family.  But one thing that seems to always be the case is that I am very rarely happy when I am by myself.

So that leads me to think that I need other people to share my life with to feel truly happy.  'Other people' could be a few things,  friends, family, and a relationship.  The way I look at it is, you can have all the friends in the world, but if you don't have that special person you can share your life with and connect on the most intimate levels, a true soul mate, then you will never be happy.  Thats just how I feel.  Friends are also an extremely important part of the puzzle that is finding true happiness.  You need those people in your life who you can just have fun with.  I heard a quote from a show on NBC called Community. The character Jeff Winger is talking to his friend Pierce, who feels that he has no real family to share his life with, and Jeff tells him, "Pierce, if you have friends, you have family." I really like that quote a lot.  Because there are people who just have no family support whatsoever.  Luckily I have an amazing family who support me in all my endeavors, but its comforting to know that if I didn't have that, my friends are there for me, kind of my "second family"  and I love that.

Ok so say you found, friends, family, and your soul mate. Great! Are you happy now?  I don't believe its that simple.  I think there are a couple other components to the complex equation that is happiness.  Once you have all those people in your life, you still need to support yourself and your family.  You need a career that you love.  In life you spend a huge amount of your time working.  I think this is an area where a lot of people settle.  They find a job that pays ok, its enough to get by.  They stick with it for their whole lives even though they might cringe everyday when they pull into the parking lot. That is not something I want.  If I am going to spend 8 hours a day, 5 days a week working somewhere, I want to love what I do.  Obviously money is important, because I want to provide for my family someday and give them all the opportunities to achieve their goals, and many times money is an integral part in that.  But I'm sure you've heard as I have that money does not bring happiness.  Finding a career to me is more about feeling fulfilled in what you do for a living than making the most money possible.

So a lot of people would look at this list, friends, family, husband/wife, a great job and think, "well thats it right?"  As a Christian I say no.  There is one more integral thing that I believe everyone needs in their life to feel truly fulfilled and happy, and that is a relationship with God.  I can almost see all the eye's rolling and hear Tim Tebow references coming from my non-Christian friends as I type this.  But I don't care.  There have been times in my life when I have drifted away from God and honestly, those were the time when I have felt the most depressed and lonely.  There is just something amazing that comes with a relationship with God and its difficult to describe.  Everyone thinks that they have to go through life and handle their problems on their own.  But that is not true, if you take your problems and sins to God you just feel this weight has been lifted off your shoulders.  You don't have to take on life by yourself, and its the best feeling in the world.  I don't know if that adequately describes the feeling of having God in your life, but thats my bit. Im not trying to force anyone to change who they are, as I say in my blog description I am a Christian but I won't judge you for having a different view of life, thats just how I feel.  And if you like the way that having a relationship with God sounds, message me on Facebook or Twitter and we can talk about it more.

Well if you read this whole blog I am seriously amazed and grateful for your support. I know so many people have jobs and school and don't feel like taking the time out of their busy schedule to read a 20 year olds blog, but if you did thank you so much.  Let me know what you think about this topic.  Is there a formula for happiness? Or is it just an idea that can never really be grasped?  Leave a comment on my below, or comment on my Facebook page.