As millions of Friends fans know, Joey Tribbiani was left behind as his closest friends paired off to live happily ever after. A clever set up for writers to work the spin off, but all too true in the real lives of singles. And yes, right now I feel like a Joey in my own life. So what does being a Joey mean?
We identified with Friends as a reflection of the same type of support network many of us develop as young single individuals living on our own away from our own families. You become a close knit family, with the benefits of chosing your family members. But like all good things they must eventually come to an end. We graduate from college/university, move away, date each other, and sometimes get married. Group members come and go, and you try to keep in touch, but somehow it is not the same, especially when new families are formed, replacing the support group structure.
This weekend marked a end of an era in my life, and like Joey I am feeling a little left behind. A good friend of mine is moving in with his fiance, and out of my neighborhood. I recall when his condo being built and I would report back to him on as I passed the construction site on my morning daily run. I am happy for him as he is marrying a great girl, whom he met online. But I am sad that yet another of our core group has paired off and changing the dynamic. And that is what the Joey syndrome is about, having to cope with the change in your social network and the support that is so important as a single.
But as the growing success of the new Joey series demonstrates, life goes on, now all I have to do is move to LA to become an actor.
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