If you were like me and you watched way too much television as a child, you probably know all the theme songs to the best shows, all the tunes to the best commercials, and you were alive for Disney Channel’s prime – although the generation before us probably thinks that of their time. We lived through the characters on Disney like Zack and Cody, Raven, and Hannah Montana/Miley Stuart – and the classic Disney Channel movies like "The Lizzie McGuire Movie," "High School Musical," and "Sky High" (so underrated, but so fantastic). We were the golden age.
If you ever watched "Boy Meets World" you know that you got to grow up with the characters on screen. You got your #relationshipgoals from Cory and Topanga.
You got your #friendshipgoals from Shawn and Cory.
You go your #lifelessons from Mr. Feeny.
And you got your #squadgoals from the whole cast.
If you were like me, you woke up every morning to watch reruns of, arguably, the greatest television show ever created.
In the summer of 2014, Disney Channel aired "Girl Meets World," which follows Cory's and Topanga’s daughter, Riley, and her friends through the seventh grade (and beyond), with Cory as the life-lesson-teaching Mr. Matthews.
Each episode, both blatantly and subtly, holds its own life lesson taught by Mr. Cory Matthews. But, of course, my motivation to watch the show originally was to see the original cast reunite, and to see what became of Josh Matthews (SPOILER: HE GETS HOT).
After watching the first season, I concluded that this was Disney Channel’s gold mine. The show brings the best parts of the original Boy Meets World, the friendship, the family values, the Cory and Topanga, back to the screen with a modern twist. The life lessons are relatable to everyone and the #relationshipgoals still give you all the feels.
Below are the twenty most important lessons I learned from watching Girl Meets World. They are both little things and big things that you already know, but seem to be constantly reminding yourself.
“How long do I have to keep living in my father’s world?” –Riley Matthews
“Until you make it yours… go ahead, make it yours.” –Cory Matthews
“Look, all these books have one things in common, you start on page one, and each page you turn brings you deeper and deeper into the story.” –Librarian
To me, this is one of the most beautiful quotes in the first season. You can’t rush through a story (or life) or else you’ll miss all the little details that make the story what it is. You need to take it one page, one chapter, one story at a time. If you try to rush through life, you miss the fun of being a child, you miss the carefree-ness of being a teenager, you miss out on the little details that will ultimately make you who you are.
“What is this place?” –Farkle Minkus
“It’s detention, Farkle, and it’s not for you.” –Cory
“If my friends are in it, then it’s for me.” –Farkle
One of the major themes in this show is friendship. The show follows a group of best friends as they fight with each other, protect each other, compete against each other, support each other, and love each other. And throughout the entire series we learn and we are reminded that friends are a blessing. They’re our backbones, our number one fans, our reality checks, and our shoulder to cry on. Wherever they go, we follow. Whatever they do, we support. We accept their flaws and help them with their insecurities. We don’t take them for granted because we don’t want them to feel invisible or worthless or taken advantage of. They open our eyes to the world and help us when we’ve lost our way. They know that sometimes we need our space to grow and learn on our own, and sometimes we need them to snap us back into reality, even if it’s the hard way. They’re always there for us and we’ll always be there for them. They become part of you, part of your family, and you’ll always love them, unconditionally.
“Sometime you need…” –Cory
“A guiding hand that has your best interest at heart.” –Lucas Fryer
You know those moments when your parents or your friends kept pushing you to do the thing you were scared of, or insisted that you could do better or try harder, or encouraged you to step out of your comfort zone? There’s a reason they do that, so you can grow as a person. So you can be a better you and help them be a better them. Sometimes your insecurities or your fears can get the best of you and all you need is someone to say they believe in you or hold you hand.
“It’s an interesting thing about lockets, it’s usually what’s on the inside that matters most to people.” –Cory
Don’t judge a book by its cover. First impressions aren’t everything. It’s what’s on the inside that matters. We hear these sayings over and over, and dispense them as though they’re nothing. Looks don’t matter, they fade away, what matters is the person’s personality, sense of humor, loyalty, etc. Same goes for things. The monetary value of something is completely and totally insignificant if there is a sentimental value attached to it. It’s what’s on the inside that counts.
“You know what’s the best thing about being yourself? You’re always popular with your best friend.” –Riley
“You know what’s not a waste of time? Mashed potatoes. You know why? They never let you down. They’re the best in the world at what they do. So don’t try to be mashed potatoes because they’re better at that than you could ever be.” –Cory
Don’t try to compete with something or someone if you know you can’t win. Be the best you can be in comparison to no one but yourself. Being competitive, wanting to be the best is great, until it’s not.
“Just because something is wrapped all pretty, doesn’t always mean it is.” –Cory
“If you quiet your voice, if you stop, because you think other people are better, then you are not who I know you are” –Riley
You should never feel inferior to anyone, and you should, especially, never put yourself down because you feel like your thoughts or your opinions aren’t as important as anyone else’s.
“I sit here looking at all these people because, it turns out, other people are the key to your own happiness.” –Evelyn Rand
“I was actually scared of Farkle until he took his mask off, and when he did, it was just Farkle.” –Riley
“People who go through thing for you, people who pour their heart and souls into their job because they care should be valued and embraced. You should look them in the eye and say thank you.” –Cory
Anyone who does anything for you – opens a door, makes you your coffee, writes a report for you, no matter if it is their job or not – should be thanked, every day. Their actions may be small and insignificant like opening the door for you or it can be a life-saving favor they do for you, but either way, they took time our of their day to help you and you should always appreciate that.
“So, before someone can use our own flaws against us, maybe it would help us to admit we all have them.” –Cory
“Friends don’t attack each other.” –Lucas
“It’s like we don’t pay attention to the people who really care about us.” –Riley
“Good old friends should never be apart too long.” – Cory
“I know this is gonna come as a shock to you, but there’s gonna come a day where you start to prioritize friends over your family.” – Cory
“… and as everyone is joined together, we see that, in the long game, friends become family.” – Josh Matthews
There comes a time in every person’s life when they start choosing their friends over their family. There comes a time in every person’s life when their friends become their family. Your friends, old or new, all help shape you into the person you ultimately become. They support you, they teach you, and they love you. They’re family.
“Riley, people only get upset with each other when what they’re talking about is important to them.” –Maya Hart
“It’s just interesting that all of our thought turn to other allies when Canada is right next to us. Perhaps it’s because we know they’ll always be there for us that we take them for granted.” – Cory
Sometimes we take for granted the people who are always there for us because we know they’ll always be there for us. We forget to thank them for always being there because at this point it’s just a natural thing, but we can’t forget. We can’t take advantage of the people who stick around because everyone has a breaking point and everyone needs to feel appreciated everyone once in a while.
“It amazes me how the power of love sometimes guides the perfect couples right into each other’s arms.” – Cory
As the saying goes, time and time again, what is meant to be will happen. Love is a powerful, beautiful thing that nobody expects.
And of course, if anything goes wrong...
