Seventeen years after the series finale of Friends, the cast (and producers with some surprise guests) reunited.

During the one-hour and 45-minute reunion special, they had fans from all over the world including Ghana, Mexico, and India explain what the show meant to them. I was definitely one of those fans.

I was a 90s kid and grew up without the beauty and convenience of streaming. I would catch reruns on late-night television, sometimes recording on a VHS and watching new episodes. I remember freaking out that Rachel was actually the one pregnant. I remember when Chandler and Monica got together. I remember whenever David (Hank Azaria) would come back who was my favorite for Phoebe but that is a separate matter. 

The show helped me as a kid who was bullied, it was a distraction for me as my parents got divorced. I could also relate to them, Rachel and Chandler because their parents divorced too, Phoebe because she was the “weird” one and I was the weirdo in school for having foreign parents. 

I had all the DVDs, could tell you the plots just by seeing the opening scene, memorized lines, and had countless behind-the-scenes books and magazines. I knew that the frame at Rachel and Monica is from a broken mirror, that Lisa has the most infectious laugh, that Matt had a crush on Jennifer. 

The reunion show was welcomed but I did not expect to learn anything new. I was in for a surprise. Here are some gems I learned that I think any Friends fan would love too: 

> Matt LeBlanc explained that Courtney Cox had written her lines on the table so to tease her, he erased all of her lines. What episode this was? I am not sure but the teasing factor is just one example of their natural chemistry and relationship. 
Sidenote: My hurt was so full of joy and emotion watching how Lisa, Jennifer, and Matt all brought tissues to wipe Courtney’s tears away. They were all still in synch. 

> Chandler is named after a friend of co-creator, Marta Kauffman. So that explains where in the world they got that name from because I doubt it was because of Raymond Chandler;) 

> Matt’s shoulder popped off from falling during the famous and highly acclaimed episode “The One Where No One’s Ready” and they have the whole incident on film.

> Speaking of monkeys, something that David did not like in his experience from the show was working with Marcel (whose real name was Katie, I told you I am a MEGA fan) because the monkey would not follow instructions when needed and use to eat her treats while on his shoulder, leaving unwanted remnants all over David’s hair. 

> Jen and David actually had a not-so-secret crush on each other since the beginnings of season 1 but didn’t act on it which worked in the chemistry for their characters. 

There were so many other moments that I admit cried at, laughed at, screamed at and I can’t wait to rewatch it all. 

This show meant so much to so many people because that show brought these friends to life, they were all of our friends and friends are after all, family. 

Thanks for the memories and these new ones! Check out some of my live tweets (liked by Malala herself, pretty cool!)