Everyone knows that Regina George was not a nice girl. Though super pretty and popular, I don’t think any of us would consider her a role model. I’ve made a list of some of the worst Regina George character traits to try to make an example of how not to treat people.
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Having friends only because they worship you
It’s debatable throughout the whole movie if Regina even likes her friends at all. She seems to just hang out with them to serve her own self validation. She likes being adored and worshipped, and she has people willing to do so, so why not? Don’t be like this, love your friends for who they are, not because of what they do for you.
2. Belittling people’s ideas and opinions
This sounds obvious but have you ever been in a group project? Even if people’s ideas are a little…umm, less than intelligent…there’s a polite way to recognize and thank them for their input and suggest another alternative. Making people feel stupid is never the answer.
3. Being rude and sarcastic
Taking a sarcastic tone can do more damage than you think. I know sometimes among friends it’s all in good fun, but there’s also a line. I’ve had friends who would jokingly pick fun at me and at first it was fine but after awhile, that’s all they would ever say to me and it got to be a little upsetting. Let’s keep the jokes to a minimum and the compliments to the max!
4. Not listening
Honesty time! I’m not a great listener. I’m trying to work on it and obviously I never bluntly tell people to shut up but when I ignore what they say and continue with my thoughts I might as well be. Another thing I do is try too hard to pick out how I can relate what they’re saying to my experiences/my feelings rather just giving them the best ear that I can. Actively listening to others is so important!
5. Constantly needing to be the center of the universe
I think in our individualistic nation it’s super easy to just think that everyone revolves around us and everyone should do what we want. To put it simply, not everything is about you.
6. Feeling like you have all the answers
Sometimes I just need to take a step back and realize I don’t have it all together either. Judging people’s paths seems easy when there’s is foreign and ours is familiar, but we need to remember we’re all doing our best the way we know how. Frankly, it doesn’t matter if you understand other people’s choices or not.
7. Flaunting what you have
Regina has rich parents, a nice car, house, clothes, and a super hot boyfriend (now the host of Cake Wars… but that’s beside the point), and she makes sure you know about it. Obviously some people have been more blessed than others and that’s fine! But what’s not fine is trying to make everyone feel inferior to you.
8. Being a cheater and a liar
This goes without saying, but honor your promises to people; friends, boyfriends, girlfriends, it doesn’t matter. Everyone deserves to feel they’re worth your time and devotion.
9. Bad mouthing your friends behind their backs
It really sucks when you find out someone you thought was your friend has been saying cruel things behind your back. If you don’t like someone, just don’t be their friend. You never have to be rude to them.
10. Spreading rumors about your friends
Again, good friends don’t say things that can cause there friend harm. Maybe this isn’t even a lie but just as simple as keeping private matters private and being respectful of what they don’t want talked about.
11. Bonus!
Also, try to not get hit by a bus.
I know a lot of these seem obvious but it can be easy to forget some of the “lesser offenses” like not listening and being self-absorbed. Luckily Regina had a change of heart her senior year but let’s do our best to be friendly and inclusive always!
Thanks for reading!
HXCO, Lyss
*All photos courtesy of giphy.com