Article photo by Zach Miles
Hey there Upper East Siders. You might have that you saw the last of Gossip Girl back in 2012, but you are far from wrong. Gossip Girl might be over, but the life lessons the show was filled with continue to stay with us.
Gossip Girl is one of the few shows I can excitedly watch more than once and still be moderately surprised with the ending. For those of you unfamiliar with the show, Gossip Girl is placed in New York City. Viewers follow wealthy Manhattan teens who live lives filled with drama, alcohol, money and betrayal.
However, every teen in NYC fears the legendary Gossip Girl who seems to know and see all. No one can quite figure out who she is, but she is always up-to-date with the latest drama.
Once you see past the superficial and over dramatic front, the show delivers a few power life lessons that everybody should live by.
As Blair Waldorf once said, “If you really want something you don’t stop for anyone or anything until you get it.” Queen B was constantly stood in the shadow of her best friend, left by numerous men who claimed they loved her and faced never-ending failure. However, she never let that stop her from getting what she wanted. In the face of adversity, she persevered and by the end, came out on top. Waldorf teaches us that we will face obstacles, let ourselves down and be disappointed by ones who claim to love us. But if we stay strong and keep our eyes on our goals we will surely come out victorious.
Not all of Waldorf’s lesson had happy endings. In fact, one of the biggest life lessons we learn from her is most likely the most heartbreaking. Queen B finds the man that is supposedly the perfect match for her. He is attractive, witty and kind. Did I mention he was also a prince? It was truly a dream come true for her. But we learn from this that life is not a fairy tale. Even a prince does not promise a happily ever after.
Waldorf realizes that he is not everything she believed him to be and must accept the harsh reality that this man was not her prince. Just like Waldorf, we sometimes have to realize that the person you think is perfect for you may not be your prince.
Twitter constantly hypes up the friendship between Blair and Serena calling them #Goals. However, Gossip Girl should have taught us a lesson that they did not: cut off toxic people. Serena Van Der Woodsen was supposedly Waldorf’s best friend. That is, until Van Der Woodsen slept with Waldorf’s boyfriend.
From there on out, the two spend the length of the show bouncing between being best pals and mortal enemies. Gossip Girl teaches us from their friendship that a real friend would never do anything that the girls did to each other. Friends who would knowingly hurt you are spoiler alert, not your friend at all. Waldorf should have cut off Van Der Woodsen in a hot second. Maybe she would have been happier sooner if she ended things with her best frenemy.
Something that all characters in Gossip Girl fall victim to are lying. They constantly lie to get out of sticky situations, to get what they want, to hurt feelings, to not hurt feelings and to brag about themselves. We learn that nothing good comes from lying. The only thing gained from twisting the truth is hurting those you love and even yourself. No matter how much it hurts, we all must face the truth.
Gossip Girl is much more than a young adult drama. It is more than a book series or a television show. Between the shocking lines and twisted love triangles, Gossip Girl teaches valuable lessons that are bound to stick with us for life.
XOXO