"Spongebob Squarepants" was a very influential show for us kids growing up in the late 1990s and early 2000s. However, a lot of people give it flak for being mind-numbing and supposedly making kids less intelligent. Well, as with anything else, when you look deeper, you'll find that there is a lot to take from it. The character, Patrick Star, though considered to be one of the less intelligent characters in the show, actually has a lot of wisdom to offer us. For example:
1. You can be anything you want to be.
Never let anyone tell you who you can or can’t be. If you want to put a piece of coral on your face and run around saying, “I’m Squidward, I’m Squidward” then you do it.
2. You shouldn’t have to hide yourself from the world.
Be proud of who are, regardless of what the world might think of it. Make sure your friends are, too, even if it means standing on top of a roof with your best friend encouraging him to scream “I’m ugly and I’m proud!"
3. Stick to your guns.
Never back down, let off, or give up. Always be consistent. At the end of the day, you will have your pride and your honor. This means when a giant angry squirrel looks you in the eye and asks which one of you is Dirty Dan, you look her right back in the eye and say “I am."
4. Don’t commit crimes.
Doing illegal things is bad. Simple as that. Even if it’s something little, like stealing a balloon. (Luckily for Spongebob and Patrick, is was free balloon day, but chances are you won't be as lucky.)
5. Don't be afraid to ask questions, no matter how dumb it may sound.
This one is really important for everyone in school. If you don’t understand something, ask your teacher or professor to clarify. If you don’t, you may lose out and not understand the lesson. Lets be honest, no matter how dumb you think your question is, it can’t possibly be dumber than Patrick asking if mayonnaise is an instrument.
6. Do something for someone else every once in a while.
Everyone nowadays is very focused on themselves. It's good to do something for someone else every now and again. As Sandy is coming up with all these fun ideas for her and her friends to do, Patrick suggests they should wash an old person. What a good guy.
7. Hygiene is very important.
It is always important to practice good hygiene no matter where you are. It’s important not only for your health, but for the health of others. When Patrick is taking care of a sick Spongebob, he soaks his hands in some kind of sterilizing solution and says one of his famous lines “Don’t touch me, I’m sterile!"
8. Honesty is the best policy.
When confronted with anything, always be honest. Even if it gets you into trouble, you will still have a reputation of being honest. Patrick displays this well when Sandy asks him “Don’t you have to be stupid somewhere else?” to which he responds, “not until 4."
9. Make the best out of a bad situation.
Even though things may seem bad, there is always something good that can come out of any situation. You just have to find it. Kind of like when Sandy’s tree dome gets infested with fleas and Patrick gets bitten many times; instead of crying about it, he pulls out a pencil and uses the bite marks as a game of connect-the-dots. Its all about your perspective.
10. Go to great lengths to help the people you love.
If you truly love someone, there isn’t much that you wouldn’t do for them if they really needed you. For example, when Spongebob needs to get into the Salty Spitoon, Patrick literally beats himself up to make Spongebob look tough. If that isn’t true friendship, then I don’t know what is.
