Having seen Lady Bird (2017) at the formative age of 15, I always tried to imagine what my own ‘coming-of-age’ moment would look like at university. My own life experiences were then virtually non-existent, so my dreams for the future were built vicariously around the adventures and mishaps of my favourite characters on screen.

And so, naturally, on the eve of my moving into college I decided that I must watch the episode of Gilmore Girls (2000-2007) in which Rory has her first day at Yale. Lying in a hotel room with my sisters, it provided exactly the comfort we needed, and a respite from the screaming match we’d engaged in just an hour before. For those 43 minutes, we could pretend our anxieties about separation and new beginnings only existed in the fictional world, and were only as real as the characters on our screen.

“I have frequently found myself mirroring my own milestones with those of my favourite characters”

But by the time term was in full swing, I found myself overtaken by the excitement of a new city, friends and experiences. The thought of sitting down for a quiet evening to rewatch my favourites suddenly felt like a laborious task, and a new film or series was totally out of the question.

Having now steadily overcome this to the point of procrastination through comfort rewatches, I’ve managed to narrow down why rewatching our favourite shows and films is a staple in the university student’s routine. For starters, their predictability allows us to momentarily switch our brains off, not having to focus particularly hard on dialogue or worry about missing key plot points. If you’re anything like me, it also provides the perfect background noise for getting ready, answering my messages or (more commonly) playing a few rounds of Block Blast.

The familiarity of it all is another plus. Our favourite scenes and soundtracks can be the antidote to all our ailments: like a warm hug to cure a bout of homesickness, or simply to provide some laughter as you battle the Week Five Blues. When we press play, we are hit with a wave of nostalgia, transported back to simpler times.

So, as these films and shows form part of our past selves, they can become facets of our identity. As someone who enjoys a slice-of-life drama, I have frequently found myself mirroring my own milestones with those of my favourite characters. I rewatched Rory Gilmore’s acceptance into Yale when I received mine to Cambridge, and I’m reminded of her rather scathing review of a student ballet performance each time I write an article of my own. Some might say this practice is a little parasocial, but that’s no reason to stop: rewatching certain episodes to mark my own life experiences acts as a reminder of my past self, and it fills me with a sense of pride to think about how far I’ve come since I first watched them. What would my teenage self think, of living out her dreams and now being able to actually relate to what she would see on screen?

“Comfort watches can act as a connector between our current and past selves”

This element of rewatches can also act as a bridge between our pre- and post-university selves. The films and shows of my teenage years influenced my sense of identity and interests, shaping me into the person that I am now: a little pretentious, and referencing more pop culture moments than necessary on a daily basis. As I wrangle my friends together for screenings of my favourite films, the experience becomes more intimate: as the plot develops, their understanding of me and my interests does too. They learn a little more about what I like or dislike, and why certain films called out to me in that period of my life. Most recently, we have been transported back to childhood sleepovers with How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003) and to the horrific experience of writing my EPQ on military propaganda with the classic, Top Gun (1986).

Having tried abandoning my roots in first year, prioritising going out over staying in with a throwback film or series, I can now say that the former is a little overrated. For students who rarely get a proper break in term time, comfort rewatches are perfect for winding down after an intense day. More significantly, they can act as a connector between our current and past selves, illustrating to us and our new friends how far we’ve come.

Now, as I scroll down once more to the ‘Watch It Again’ section on Netflix, I feel no shame. Rather, I’ll revel in enjoying my favourite theme tunes and characters for at least another year, as I desperately cling onto my girlhood.

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