Sitcom characters are larger-than-life characters with exaggerated traits and drama that make them appear outside of the "normal." That's especially true in a sitcom like New Girl in which all of the insecurities, dreams, and personality quirks of the main characters were turned up to 11 to make for entertaining stories and interpersonal relationships.
Every character that lived in the loft in New Girl had their moments when the rest of their roommates found them overbearing, overdramatic, or just plain weird. That didn't mean they didn't all also have moments where each character was the most "normal" of the bunch. As the one most often in touch with her emotions, Jessica Day had plenty of chances to be the one the rest of her roommates were entertained by, but she also appeared as one of the most grounded characters in the sitcom.
10 Jess Suggested The Roommates Install Towel Bars
An early B-storyline in the series involved Schmidt getting upset at the fact that his towel always seemed to be damp. While he preferred to yell at his roommates and have loft meetings in the middle of their shared bathroom, Jess offered up a simpler solution.
Jess recommended installing towel bars on the wall instead of utilizing the hooks that were already there. Of course, the crux of Schmidt's problem was actually that Nick was using Schmidt's towel, but Jess was still the only one to come up with a solution instead of making a dramatic presentation about it.
9 Jess Did Not Agree With Nick "Un-Fixing" Things
One of the biggest issues for the roommates was money. While Winston, Nick, and Jess frequently found themselves without enough to pay their way, Schmidt always seemed to have plenty. Schmidt and Nick were the ones who butted heads about money the most.
When Schmidt hired a plumber instead of accepting Nick's cheap fixes, Nick retaliated by making sure everything Schmidt paid for ended up in the latter's room—and that he "un-fixed" everything he previously fixed. While Jess tried to stay out of their fight to allow them to work things out, by the time the cabinet doors were coming off of their hinges, it was hard to stay neutral. Thanks to Jess and Winston's critiquing, the two realized how childish they were.
8 Jess Wanted To Bring Her Own Furniture Into The Loft
When a person moves into a new place, it's not unreasonable for them to want some of their own pieces to make it feel like home. Jess tried to do just that, bringing in items she got at thrift stores, or free pieces of furniture she picked up off the street.
Unfortunately for Jess, it led to an argument with Schmidt, who couldn't stand having used items in the loft. While Jess tried to be calm and explain herself, Schmidt knocked over the hutch she found, breaking the glass pieces and knocking the drawers out of place. It's an extreme reaction that Jess, rightfully, called him out on. A person shouldn't be uncomfortable in their own home, or not be allowed to pick out furniture themselves.
7 Jess Asked The Building Manager For Help
When a living space is rented instead of purchased, the person (or company) that owns it is the one responsible for the building. In the case of apartments, that often means there are property managers, supervisors, or maintenance officials on call for damages. Before Jess moved into the loft, however, the men in her apartment refused to call Remy for help.
That meant they lived with a broken garbage disposal, faulty wiring, messed up plumbing, and doors that didn't quite open all the way. Jess took it upon herself to get a little help for all the things wrong in the apartment. While Remy ended up being more than Jess bargained for, Jess' head was in the right place. There's no reason to live in a building in which the light switch could electrocute her when someone was available to repair damages.
6 Jess Befriended Coach
When Coach moved back into the loft in the third season, it's right as Jess and Nick started dating. Coach didn't even remember living with Jess before he moved out. He thought of her as his "buddy's girl," and that rubbed Jess the wrong way, so she went out of her way to share interests with him and become his friend.
While Jess took things to extremes in the series, her concern was valid. This is someone she lived with—and who was living with her again—who only referenced her as a friend's girlfriend. It's understandable that she would want to make friends with Coach instead of completely ignore him while living together. Plenty of people have those awkward periods when they first become roommates and work to find common ground.
5 Jess Rejected The Advice Of Her Roommates
If there's one thing fans could agree on while New Girl aired, it was that the lives of the sitcom characters were messy. All of the roommates tended to get into situations that could land them in trouble—and they all doled out bad advice.
Jess wasn't often up for taking said advice. While she did take Schmidt's advice about a dating app, and Nick's advice about getting in with the cool teachers at school, more often than not, she would reject the more outlandish tips the guys would give her. She was probably better off as most of the time, Nick, Schmidt, and Winston ended up coming to her for advice instead.
4 Jess Questioned Nick's Ability To Cook
Nick's eating habits were often worrying. He did things like dry out meat in his closet and eat potato salads that were going to be thrown away. When Jess and the others expressed their concern, admitting that they snuck vitamins into his food, Nick decided to prove he could be an adult. He did that by preparing breakfast.
When Jess caught him, he was putting butter in a pan before adding his bacon to it. She started to question just why he needed the butter. After all, bacon produces enough grease that a pan doesn't need to be greased. She didn't end up voicing her concerns to him, allowing Nick to learn the lesson himself as he started a grease fire. Jess recognized the concern but also recognized the need for Nick to make his own mistakes, so both aspects of the interaction rate as normal amongst friends who care for one another but want to teach a lesson.
3 Jess Established Boundaries In Her Friendship With Reagan
Long after Jess and Nick broke up, she spent a lot of time avoiding her feelings for him—especially since she got along with his girlfriend Reagan. Unfortunately, Jess realized that both Nick and Reagan were using her as Reagan's stand-in whenever the latter had to go out of town for work.
After Reagan purchased jewelry for Jess in thanks, she voiced her concern with Nick, explaining she couldn't constantly be placed in the middle of their relationship, that it wasn't fair to any of them. That might be one of the most mature things done by one of the roommates, and definitely a normal reaction.
2 Jess Didn't Appreciate Winston's Dance-Off
When Winston moved into the loft, he and Jess didn't hit it off right away. Things got even more awkward between them when Jess was invited to the wedding of one of Nick and Schmidt's college classmates.
Winston found himself competing with a child at the same wedding. Out of work, and earning money as an usher at the wedding, Winston felt like he had something to prove. Jess ended up in the middle of the child and Winston while they competed in a dance-off, making her incredibly uncomfortable. The audience couldn't blame her for immediately bailing on dancing to get out of the awkward situation.
1 Jess Didn't Want To Kiss Schmidt
When Schmidt found out that Nick kissed Jess in the sitcom, he was not a happy roommate. He was sure the dynamic in the loft would be off, and he decided that to make things even, he should get to kiss Jess too. Though Jess and Nick eventually agreed to his terms, initially Jess was appalled by Schmidt's suggestion.
The idea was that she was supposed to go along with her body being used to evening the playing field—with or without her consent. It was a truly awful idea, and one that Schmidt could admit made things worse after the fact.