I watched “Sex and The City” for the first time over the summer and I haven’t stopped talking about it since. The iconic HBO show follows four friends — Carrie Bradshaw, Miranda Hobbes, Charlotte York, and Samantha Jones — as they navigate New York City’s complex and sometimes disappointing dating scene. Each character’s unique approach to dating left a deep impression on me. For example, Miranda Hobbes is fiercely independent and career-oriented while Charlotte York is a hopeless romantic and eternal optimist. While this trait was often portrayed as childish, I believe her optimism is something we should all try to incorporate into our lives.
Charlotte York’s unwavering values
Warning: Spoilers ahead!
Throughout the show, Charlotte stayed true to herself and never compromised her values. Charlotte knew that she was ultimately searching for her Prince Charming. Whenever she dated someone, she made sure that their values aligned and that they both wanted the same thing: marriage. If this wasn’t the case, she’d leave them. One of my favorite quotes of hers is “I’m nice. I’m pretty, and I’m smart. I’m a catch!” Too often, we don’t appreciate ourselves and even talk down on ourselves but Charlotte never did this. Sure, she would feel down like any of us would but at the end of the day, she recognized her worth and knew if her current boyfriend didn’t, she could find someone else who would.Â
Charlotte’s commitment to her values fueled her dedication to “finding the one.” Everyone else in the friend group teased her a lot for this, saying that she had unrealistic expectations and made fun of her white picket fence dream, but she didn’t let this faze her. Through all the constant jokes and dating hardships, she persisted, eventually finding true love in the final season of the show.
Charlotte’s Optimism is her secret weapon
This optimism might feel a little silly and even impossible when life gets you down so many times, but living with an optimistic approach isn’t childish or useless. Charlotte proudly talked about her search for her knight-in-shining-armor and never let what others thought get to her. Although she felt like giving up after her first marriage ended in divorce, she reminded herself that her dream was still possible and she could always try again. When something we dream about for so long fails, trying again feels impossible. Charlotte shows us that failure only occurs when we don’t try again.Â
At times, I found the show hard to watch because of how bad I felt for Charlotte. The other girls were okay with casual relationships; in contrast, Charlotte only wanted to see men who wanted something serious with her. So when she thought she found her happily ever after with her first husband, I was elated. Afterwards, their marriage had a lot of issues eventually leading to their divorce, but she managed to see the light at the end of the tunnel and not settle for less than what she knew she deserved. Without Charlotte’s optimism, she may not have gotten that result. She did not let her hardships weigh her down forever, and this is something we can try to practice in our own life.