"The Breakfast Club." The quintessential 1980’s John Hughes classic. If you’ve never seen it, you’re missing out on a life-changing 97 minutes and you should probably consider doing that right now. My life was changed around the age of six, due to a (probably) questionable decision made by my aunt to pop in this movie and let the jokes and themes go right over my head. I did not understand more than half this movie at the time, but I was 100% hooked. Since that day, I have probably seen this movie a good 200 times, and that’s not an exaggeration. "The Breakfast Club" made a home in my heart and I couldn’t be more thankful for that section of myself. From learning to accept what’s different, to knowing when to not hold my tongue, this movie covers it all. While there are tons of quotes I could have chosen, here are just a few that, upon accepting, can change the way you live your life.
1. "We're all pretty bizarre. Some of us are just better at hiding it, that's all." – Andrew Clark
Stop judging people, because at the end of the day, you’ve got some weird shit going on in your head too. You may not show it like them, or maybe you show it more than them; either way, it does not make you better than them.
2. "You ought to spend a little more time trying to make something of yourself and a little less time trying to impress people." – Richard Vernon
Even if it’s just for one decision of your day, make a choice just for yourself. Disregard anyone else’s opinion and just think of what you want. You are the only person that ultimately has to live with the choices you make, so why should impressing anyone with those choices matter?
3. "Like, when I step outside myself, kinda, and when I, when I look in at myself, you know? And I see me and I don't like what I see, I really don't." – Andrew Clark
This is when sweet Andrew realizes he’s not happy with himself and makes the decision to stop putting so much damn pressure on himself. Everyone should do this, even if it’s scary—look at yourself. I mean seriously, seriously, look at yourself and where you are in your life. Are you happy? Do you like what you see? If either of those answers are "no," reevaluate what you’re doing and where you’re going.
4. "Well, if you say you haven't, you're a prude. If you say you have, you're a slut. It's a trap. You want to but you can't, and when you do you wish you didn't, right?" – Allison Reynolds
What else can I explain about this? Everyone knows its to be 100% true. That is, unless we stop making these judgements and stop worrying about everyone else’s decisions. If there’s no one setting the trap, no one will fall into it.
5. “You know how shitty that is to do someone, and you don't got the balls to stand up to your friends and tell them you're gonna like who you wanna like.” – John Bender
Be still my beating heart, I adore John Bender. He doesn’t stand by and not say something he wants to. Yes, he has plenty of flaws, but if everyone would start speaking their mind like him, the world might be a little better. Stop putting your happiness in other people’s hands and letting them drive your life for you, because you’re only hurting yourself.
All-in-all, maybe it would do some good for everyone to be a little bit of a princess, an athlete, a brain, a criminal and a basket-case.
