ABC's "Once Upon A Time" is chock-full of lessons to learn. Though many are said, they sometimes are hidden in the words that are said. Some are even unspoken. These lessons are valuable to everyone's life, but any Oncer has learned these lessons from the horse's mouth through their devotion to the show, while it was airing and now, months after the final episode in May 2018.
"Believing in even the possibility of a happy ending is a powerful thing." ~Mary-Margaret Blanchard
"Evil isn't born, it's made. And so is good." ~Regina Mills
"If you hold on to someone too hard, that doesn't make them love you." ~Regina
"People are going to tell you who you are your whole life. You just gotta punch back and say, 'No, this is who I am.' You want people to look at you differently? Make them! You want to change things, you're gonna have to go out there and change them yourself because there are no fairy godmothers in this world." ~Emma Swan
"I don't want my pain erased. As wretched as it is, I need my pain. It makes me who I am." ~Grumpy
"Giving in to one's dark side never accomplishes anything." ~Jiminy Cricket
"True love isn't easy but it must be fought for because once you find it, it can never be replaced." ~Prince Charming
"Flying over the world and being part of it aren't exactly the same thing." ~Nova
"If you can't let go of the past, it's doomed to haunt you." ~Archie
"Love is weakness." ~Cora Mills "No, it's strength." ~Emma Swan
"Sometimes being one [a hero] is knowing when not to run into the fire." ~David Nolan/Prince Charming
"I finally realized the one enemy I can never defeat is myself." ~Rumplestiltskin
There's more to life than just looking for the next fight. You've gotta look for the moments." ~David/Charming
"Life is made up of moments. Good ones, bad ones, but they're all worth living." ~David/Charming
"There are no coincidences. Everything that happens, happens by design, and there's nothing we can do about it. Forces far greater than us conspired to make it happen." ~Baelfire/Neal
"You can't have everything." ~Rumplestiltskin
"You can't tell what's in a person's heart until you truly know them." ~Belle/Lacey
"There's your problem. You don't believe in yourself anymore. How can I believe in you if you can't even do that?" ~The Blue Fairy
"No one decides my fate but me." ~Belle
"If you keep worrying about the future, you'll never enjoy the present." ~Archie
"All actions have consequences." ~Evil Queen
"Why fight a battle you can't win?" ~David (Enchanted Forest) "Those are exactly the battles you should fight. If you know you could win, it's not a fight. If it's impossible you have to fight to achieve it." ~Anna
"Survival isn't enough. You have to live." ~David and Anna
"Sometimes a hero has to sacrifice everything to save the people they love." ~Belle
"Home is the place when you leave you just miss it." ~Emma
"No one's path is set." ~Robin Hood
"You don't do the right thing for a reward. You do it because it's right." ~Rumplestiltskin
"Darkness can always find the light." ~Regina
"After true love, there is no more powerful magic than footwear. It has to be protected." ~Mary Margaret/Snow White
"My life was never just one story. It was many stories. ... I want to start a new story. And I choose to believe that this story will have a better ending than my last." ~Regina
"The man beneath him [a monster] may be flawed, but we all are." ~Belle
"Sometimes the best book has the dustiest jacket. And sometimes the best teacup is chipped." ~Belle
"Do you know what I saw when I looked inside? Hope." ~Mary-Margaret "Looks like fairy tales to me." ~Henry Mills "And what exactly do you think fairy tales are? They are a reminder that our lives will get better if we just hold onto hope." ~Mary-Margaret
"Your happy ending may not be what you expect, but that is what will make it so special." ~Mary-Margaret
Hope is a choice." ~Mary-Margaret/Snow White
"All magic comes with a price." ~Rumplestiltskin
and literally every character who uses or needs the assistance of magic
"You can do anything as long as can you dream it." ~Astrid/Nova
"So long as you live in the past, you'll never find your future." ~Rumplestiltskin
"You want to change your destiny, but you can't go back in time. No one can." ~Glinda
"Love, true love, is magic. And not just any magic - the most powerful magic of all. It creates happiness." ~Regina Mills
"Good will win." ~Henry Mills
And sometimes it doesn't.
Fight for what you believe in.
Everyone deserves a happy ending, no matter who you are.
And a second chance
Sometimes revenge isn't what you think, and sometimes it isn't worth the trouble.
There truly is no place like home.
Or the people you care about and who care about you.
These are only some of the endless lessons that Oncers across the world have learned from this amazing show. And just as all magic comes with a price, the show had to end after seven wonderful years. But the magic was the endless lessons we learned over the seven years the show ran, but also the many years of discovery ahead. I will keep looking for the lessons this show has taught me and so many others.
man running in forestPhoto by 
