Watching Shameless you wouldn't expect it to be a show that you can take much away from. Besides what drugs to mix and how much beer to drink. But if you take the time to watch the show you'll realize that theres actually more to it than you think. All the siblings give a little something to the family, but one of the best characters I think on the show is Lip. If you watch the show you realize that their is a lot to learn from Lip Gallagher, and here's just a few of them.

1. It doesn’t matter where you come from.
   1. From the hood to MIT. Lip proves to everyone that he is better than where he is from. He doesn’t become the statistic from where he is from.
2. Don’t give up.
   1. He dropped out of high school and managed to go back, graduate, and get into college. He didn’t give up even when he had a crazy family at home. He worked when he had to work and he did what he had to do.
3. Sometimes tough love is what you have to do.
   1. All the times he didn’t let Frank inside. All the times he hung up on Fiona. Putting Ian in the hospital. Not babying Carl or Debbie when other people would have. Telling everyone how it is.
4. Family always come first.
   1. No matter what happens you always pick family. All the times that Lip could've walked away, taken the easy ways out. Not helped his family. Not driven to pick up Fiona from a gas station after a bender. Or gone and pick up Ian after a manic episode. Taking care of Liam after he almosts dies. Taking his family too and from college with him when they need someone to look after them. He always puts his family first, even when some people never would have.
5. You can prove everyone wrong.
   1. No one expected Lip to do anything with his life. He proved everyone wrong by going to school. Proving his intelligence. Taking care of himself. No one expected him to get this far.
6. Don’t let anyone make you think lower of yourself.
   1. No matter what anyone tells you, don’t let them change who you are. When Lip comes back from college and his friends mock him for not doing all the things he used too, he doesn’t care. He doesn’t let them make him change his mind and make stupid decisions.
7. It is okay to let go and have fun.
   1. Even after all he’s been through and all he has to do, he lets himself have fun. He knows how to let loose and have fun.
8. Accept help when you need it.
   1. Stubborn as he is, he does accept help when he needs it. He understands that you can’t always do it on your own, as much as you might want too.