I laughed. I cried. I laughed while I cried. I cried while I laughed. But mostly I just laughed.

Not many people have that effect on me, so when they do, it generates a rare and special bond that holds tight and lasts a lifetime. If I never love again, I will be OK because I will always be at peace knowing I had nine magical years of bliss.

The relationships I have formed with Michael, Dwight, Jim, Pam and the rest of the gang (heck, even Toby) are some that I hold closest to my heart.

These hypothetical, imaginary connections are with characters from the popular mockumentary show, “The Office.” 

The fact that I have nearly 800 words of gushing, overflowing love for a TV show is a sign that the writers and producers did something so totally right. So I bow down to you Greg Daniels, Paul Lieberstein, Mindy Kaling, B.J. Novak and the rest of the amazing cast and crew who contributed to this artistic genius-ness that manifests itself in “The Office.” 

The simplicity of this show is what makes it what it is. 

The series follows the lives of the employees of a Scranton, Pa. paper company, Dunder Mifflin, and takes every day, mundane ideas like spending eight hours sitting at a desk, being forced to attend unnecessary meetings, going to awkward dinner parties and dealing with the slew of people who annoy you to death, and turns them into pure entertainment. 

Despite these trivial every day concepts, “The Office” is anything but boring, and that is a direct result of good writing — making it so people don’t just understand the presented situations and ideas, but they care about them, too.

In one article from The New York Times, the author describes one of the writers and executive producers, Mindy Kaling, as “snarkily hilarious or unsentimentally poignant, often within the same episode and even the same moment.” 

However, I would venture to say that this quote is applicable to the entirety of the sitcom and not just to Kaling. My experience with “The Office” is notoriously that of displaying several emotions in a single episode.

During the season nine series finale, I was in shambles — naturally. As the episode neared the end and my eyes were flooded with anticipatory tears, I reached desperately at my screen with an open hand, begging the TV to not let it end. 

All of the sudden former regional manager, Michael Scott, chimes in, choked up, and says, “I feel like all my kids grew up … And then they married each other. It’s every parent’s dream!” 

My moment of sad sentimentality was interrupted by a roar of laughter — and that was the essence of the show. The ability of the show to evoke such emotion from the good-byes to my favorite characters while still being funny is raw talent in my eyes, and an outcome of a writer understanding an audience. 

Each week, I strive to take this idea and apply it to my own writing. I want to be able to take any idea that I have any ounce of care or concern for and show other people why they should care too.

I suppose the way I am doing this now is by letting this sitcom love confession serve as a parallel to your coveted addiction to whatever Netflix show you inevitably watched all of in two days — I’m talking to you, “Orange is the New Black” and “Breaking Bad” addicts.

“The Office” is not about the action, the drama, the imagined life of imagined characters — it’s about people who could very well be your friends, your professors, your co-workers or your weird relative that you only see on holidays.

It is that relatable factor that kept audiences coming back each and every week — and kept disgustingly obsessed fans like me watching the whole series multiple times.

I get gentle, every day reminders of the show from the poster plastered over my living room couch, the Dwight Schrute talking bobblehead on my desk, the World’s Best Boss coffee mug in my cupboard, my “The Office”-themed Post-it notes and my beloved Dundie trophy (shout-out to the brother and the roommate for those gems).

If that doesn’t scream addiction, I don’t know what does.

Although I will forever and always mourn the end of my all-time favorite show, which played its series finale on May 16 on NBC, I look back fondly at our relationship and with a permanent reminder of how I aspire to write.  

With 201 episodes in total, “The Office” always left me satisfied and smiling. 

That’s what she said.

Nicki is a junior in Media. She can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @NickiHalenza.