LET'S TALK ABOUT: MONICA GELLER

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It's been 21 years since FRIENDS first aired and 11 years since the finalé, and it still resounds in my heart as the best TV programme of all time. Owning the box set for six years now, and watching it from start to finish countless times, I have come to the conclusion that I simply am Monica Gellar. I am her, and she is me... and here is why.

01: My love for Chandler Bing is unconditional and uncontrollable

02: I freak out about the smallest things very easily

03: 'Overthink' is my middle name

04: I am a perfectionist - every pillow needs to be fluffed (especially when trying to impress)

05: I've been planning my wedding from an extremely young age

06: Ask anyone to describe me in one word, and they would probably pick 'loud'...

07: To sit at home and organise my life sounds more appealing to me than an evening out

08: My brother is someone that I would also call a close friend

09: I like to be in control of anything and everything

10: When I'm the centre of attention, I like to keep it that way (don't go stealing my thunder)

11: I had a fat phase... until I was 3, but still. There is a fat kid inside of me screaming for pizza

12: I cannot sleep if my flat is a mess. There is a place for everything and everything in its place

13: We share the same quirks (such as making the bed in a specific way)

14: When in a competition that I'm feeling passionate about, I can be oh so competitive

15: I'm one to look for serious relationships, and not just casual flings

16: If I were unable to have kids, I would adopt instead, and love those kids every bit as much

Growing up watching FRIENDS, all I have ever wanted is a tight-knit friendship group just like theirs. Hey, who knows? I'm technically in my twenties now, who knows what could happen... Are there any TV characters that remind you of yourself? Leave me a comment below!

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LET'S TALK ABOUT: THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER

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Despite the book coming out over sixteen years ago, and the film being released in 2012, the love that I have for Perks will never ever fade. It sounds dramatic, but the beautiful story laid out by Stephen Chbosky saved me. It saved me from a spiralling depression, and made me feel as though I wasn't alone. Around the time that my love for Perks formed, it was beginning to be massively hyped up across the internet, and it received a lot of criticism for its overrated cliché quotes. No matter how overused it may be, "we are infinite" will always mean the world to me.

I read the book in February 2011, and I actually remember exactly where I was when I read it - in an armchair in my kitchen, that is no longer there. There is such a strong memory etched into my brain of sitting there, with my legs swung over the arm, reading from page 1 to the bittersweet end. I remember tears streaming down my face as I empathised with Charlie, feeling as though I too was mis-understood and alone. If I'm completely honest, it may have been a coincidence that I started to feel happier again that February. I began to wake up looking forward to my day; wanting to spend as long as possible in the outside world. I'll never really know if the book helped me as much as I always say that it did, but it certainly put a lot of things into perspective. I felt as though I was reading about myself, and for a writer to be able to express my own feelings to millions around the globe... 'alone' was no longer the correct way to describe my state of mind.

A year later, the film was released. Although I wanted it to get the same message across, I didn't set my hopes too high, in fear of disappointment... and so I was pleasantly surprised when the film turned out to be everything I could have ever hoped for. I remember sitting in the cinema, with my best friend Amy, having to hold her hand for the opening scene. I was so overcome with emotion because of how much the book had changed my outlook on life that I sobbed for the first ten minutes. They weren't a particularly sad ten minutes - I just couldn't cope with how accurate the film represented the book, and how I was experiencing something so special to me. Don't get me wrong; the film is definitely not perfect. Some weird changes were made in contrast to the book, such as changing the tunnel song (although I do love Heroes by Bowie). A specific quote was also assigned to the wrong character, which still annoys me a bit. But overall, the film managed to capture exactly what the book meant to me, and remains one of my favourite films to this day.

Have you ever read a life-changing book? What about Perks, have you given that a go?

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