Life Lessons TV Has Taught Me...Part Two

Last time, I wrote about some of the more serious advice I've taken from my favourite shows; this time, I'm writing about things that sometimes seem insignificant but actually mean a lot, especially when you're a fan of TV, breakfast foods and crying...

There are two kinds of people.

“The only people in the universe who have never seen Star Wars are the characters in Star Wars and that's cause they lived them Ted, that's cause they lived the Star Wars.”

How I Met Your Mother, 4x01

We’ve all heard this before, but when you think about it, it gets a little worrying how easy it is to divide the human race up. People who love Star Wars and people who have never seen it (because that’s the only way a dislike of the franchise is possible); those who believe in the supernatural and those who don’t; people who cover their chips in sauce (ugh) and those who have it on the side (as it should be); and even those who believe in love at first sight and people who are more realistic. So when HIMYM started presenting us with these examples, like the people who take Halloween to a whole other level and those who can barely be bothered throwing a costume together, I started to figure out which side everybody I meet comes down on…

Embrace how awkward you are.

“I like to sing to myself – a lot.”

New Girl, 1x01

Who isn’t a little bit awkward sometimes? Or a lot, who knows? I’m still incredibly awkward in some social situations and most of the time I can’t even speak to someone like an actual human being, especially if it’s someone I like, but so what? Embrace it, let it happen, and laugh about it. If there’s anything Nick Miller has taught us, it’s that sometimes panic moonwalking away is the best idea, and it’s definitely something you should welcome.

It is perfectly okay to get emotional.

“I haven’t cried like this since Toy Story 3”

The Big Bang Theory, 4x07

Sheldon Cooper is probably one of the least emotional people ever to grace television. This, however, is counter-balanced by the other members of the group being sometimes overly emotional.  Raj has at least one emotional breakdown a season, and Leonard is known for being the ‘crier’ in his relationship with Penny; it seems like the women are the more stoic of the two sexes in this show, but seeing a man cry seems to hit harder for many people, and makes it okay for you to cry too. Not that I can complain about people getting emotional considering I cry at just about anything, but if Leonard can cry about the toys holding hands in a furnace in Toy Story 3, you have every right to get emotional about anything you want. 

Breakfast food is the best food.

“Why does anybody in the world ever eat anything but breakfast food?”

“People are idiots Ron.”

Parks and Recreation, 7x04

It’s pretty much the cure to everything; waffles, pancakes, bacon…I could go on and on but so could Ron Swanson, so that makes me feel a little better. Whether it’s deciding what to wear or making big life decisions, sitting down to some pancakes can definitely help. Leslie’s go-to breakfast food is waffles with lots and lots of whipped cream, and she’s shown us many times that they are the most comforting of foods, especially when you’re ill. So, while this has turned in to a soliloquy about my love of pancakes and waffles, you get that I’m trying to say that at least breakfast food will always be there, right?

Everything looks ordinary at first glance.

“There’s a lot of beauty in ordinary things”

The Office, 9x25

That was really the whole point of The Office, wasn’t it? Other than its hilarious comedic genius, of course. Something as ordinary as the inner workings of a paper company proved magical when you consider the development; at one point Jim announced that he had no future at Dunder Mifflin – and then he and Pam finally got married and had beautiful babies and all was right with the world. Michael Scott, possibly the world’s most idiotic boss, became a family man at long last and Dwight K. Schrute finally realised that he had friends amongst his co-workers. The simple things became the monumental things and anything that seemed ordinary became a beautiful spectacle. If that doesn’t warm your heart, and make you look at the world differently, I don’t know what will.