From: Community
Genre: Television
Who said it?: Abed Nadir
The story behind the quote: This week’s quote comes from the geek cult comedy Community. Created by Dan Harmon, the show focuses on the Greendale Community College and a specific study group of six eccentric personalities. The show has become a geeky cult classic and fans may have gotten their six seasons… but we’re still screaming for six seasons and a movie.
The quote comes from the 17th episode of the 1st season, Physical Education. When the group finds out that one of their classmates has a crush on Abed Nadir (played by Daniel Pudi), the group forces him to pursue a romantic relationship with her. It turns out the girl already has a boyfriend who looks exactly like Abed.
The group think Abed is crushed but he reveals he isn’t. He recognizes that a lot of people want to help him and the group wanted him to change as they were worried for him that he wouldn’t find a girlfriend. He tells them was going along with what they wanted as he knew it would make them happy and he was willing to change to do that. This is when he delivers the quote.
Geek wisdom: You can’t force another person to change and, if you do, they might resent you for it. They have to be willing to change.
Also, it is okay to change for others as long as it doesn’t contradict who you are on the inside.