It goes without saying that the '90s had some, if not the best cartoons of all time. Cartoons within the '90s were for everyone, not just kids. They were the kind of cartoons that parents would actually enjoy sitting down and watching with their children, versus using it as a mechanism to keep them quiet. This may explain why '90s babies just can't let them go."Hey Arnold!" among many is definitely one of those that cannot be forgotten.
Here are five important life lessons that can be taken way from this particular cartoon.
1. Love doesn't always make sense.
This is seen within the relationship of Arnold’s grandparents, Phil and Gertrude (aka Pookie). It works for them. This show contains numerous amounts of dysfunctional relationships. It's interesting to see that two of the most unpredictable characters have the most solid romantic relationship. Phil and Pookie taught me that when your loved one is singing show tunes at the top of his or her lungs at two in the morning, recounting the same story for the millionth time, or even forgetting his or her own name, all you can do is stare at them adoringly. That’s when you’ve found the one.
2. You never know what someone else is going through.
One of the meanest characters on the show is Harold Berman. Ironically enough, Harold the "big tough mean guy" is super sensitive and only picks on kids smaller than him. It becomes apparent that he is only so mean as an attempt to hide this quality. Some people learn the golden rule the hard way, but there’s almost always something going on under the surface when they’re mean. So instead of hiding your insecurities and flaws by insulting and hurting others, channel your inner Arnold and be extra nice to them. You never know what a little kindness can do to a person.
3. Sometimes, it really is the thought that counts.
In an episode of the show, Arnold takes his socially inept classmate, Eugene Horowitz, out for a day of fun activities to make up for accidentally ruining his bike. In true Eugene fashion this of course leads to only more accidents, as he is known for his bad luck. All within this one trip he falls into a sewer, chokes on a hot dog and gets stuck in a bus door. There are so many different ways that a person could have gone about handling this and I don't think very many people would have reacted as Eugene did.
At the end of it all, Eugene was still happy for Arnold's effort. This was not something that Eugene was used to. If anything, people tried to stay away from him.
4. Positivity is key.
Arnold is the most optimistic character on the entire show. I feel as if that is the main thing that made him so likable. Regardless of if it was noticed or reciprocated, Arnold continued to shed kindness and positivity onto others. It really is amazing and something that we can all learn from. Words have power and your thoughts become things. With that being said, if you approach life with a negative perspective, you will receive negative results.
