Imagine that it’s a rainy day. You’re stuck inside because the weather is forcing you to, so you do the only logical thing left – watch Netflix. As you’re searching for something to watch, you stumble upon a couple of shows under the title, “Strong Female Lead”. Initially, you wouldn’t think that Blair Waldorf, Lorelai Gilmore, Dr. Miranda Bailey and Brooke Davis all have something in common. But that is where you are wrong. All of these women, along with others, have powerful lessons that they teach you, without you even knowing.
Lorelai Gilmore (Gilmore Girls)
Lesson #1: TRADITION
Lorelai’s quick comebacks and intense love for coffee are just a few examples of why she is the perfect role model as both a parent and a friend. She puts her daughter, Rory, ahead of all of her needs and desires. Lorelai teaches you about the importance of tradition. Everyday Lorelai goes to Luke’s Diner for her coffee and to listen to the gossip of the town. On days that she doesn’t show up, there’s a certain panic that sets inside both Luke and the rest of the members of the community. She goes and tells Luke that she is going to have something different, but she always resorts back to her good old fashioned cup of coffee. Along with always being a regular at Luke’s, she is reliable when it comes to showing up to her traditional Sunday-night dinners with her parents. Even though she dreads them, she still continues to go, for the sake of Rory. She shows up with a smile even on days when the rest of her body isn’t feeling reciprocal. In both situations, Lorelai continues with her little traditions and is the perfect example of how to be a friend and a parent at the same time.
Dr. Miranda Bailey (Grey’s Anatomy)
Lesson #2: DEDICATION
Without a doubt, Dr. Bailey is the most feared doctor by all of the interns that grace the halls of the Grey-Sloan Memorial Hospital. We have seen flashbacks when Miranda (shy and soft-spoken), first started working for the Chief, and then a snap back to reality when she is running the hospital with her five rules:
1. “Don’t bother sucking up, I already hate you. That’s not going to change. Trauma protocol, phone lists, pagers. Nurses will page you – you answer every page at a run.”
2. “Your first shirt starts now and lasts 48 hours. You’re interns, grunts, nobodies, bottom of the surgical food chain. (You) run labs, write orders, work every second and night until you drop and don’t complain. On call rooms, attendings hog them – sleep when you can, where you can.
3. “If I’m sleeping, don’t wake me unless your patient is actually dying.”
4. “The patient better not be dead by the time I get there. Not only would you have killed someone, but you would have waked me for no good reason.”
5. “When I move, you move.”
Although these five rules don’t apply to everyone, the thought behind them do. Dr. Bailey teaches you about dedication. These rules were first spoken by Dr. Webber, who passed to Bailey, who then passed them to her interns and so on. Dr. Bailey is one of the most dedicated doctors, and she earns that title because of her love for the job, and her son, Tuck. Bailey dedicates herself to her job and to being the best doctor she can be. When the work day is done, she goes home and dedicates herself to her son. In a later season, Dr. Bailey realizes she needs to go home and focus on her family – so she does just that. When she returns, Dr. Bailey dedicates herself back to her first love – the hospital.
Blair Waldorf (Gossip Girl)
Lesson #3: CONFIDENCE
We all know and love Blair for her “Queen Bee” attitude and her ability to never take no for an answer. Blair Waldorf gets what she wants, when she wants, and she’s not afraid to get it even when it’s as impossible as making Chuck Bass say those “three words” and “eight letters.” Her ways teach the lesson of confidence – Blair Waldorf is the definition of that very word. With every plan that she makes, every thought she has run through her head and every task she completes, she does without fear and with poise. Blair hosts impromptu dinner parties and study sessions without a doubt that people will show up. She holds herself high and never has a hesitant tone in her voice. You will never catch Blair with a bead of sweat on her face or a tremor in her voice.
Brooke Davis (One Tree Hill)
Lesson #4: BE YOURSELF
It isn’t a surprise that Brooke Davis is one of the most powerful women on Netflix. There’s no secret that Brooke Davis not only runs Tree Hill High School, but is also a public figure in her town for being herself. Brooke teaches you about the importance of just that. She didn’t have the best of reputations in the start of high school. But, as the years went on, she changed her party girl ways from being the president of her class to being a successful business woman. Without a blink of an eye, she went from being the “slutty” cheerleader to breaking that stereotype and becoming the head of the Student Council. Not once during that time did Brooke care that other people didn’t like the person that she was or the views that she had. Even when she became broke, she still bit her tongue and got a job at Karen’s despite her dislike for being “poor.” In every episode, Brooke Davis shows all of her true colors without the worry of people judging her.
Even without realizing it, tradition, dedication, confidence and being yourself are four of the many lessons that you learn from watching four of some of the best shows on Netflix.
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