1. Appreciate time spent with your parents.
They won’t be here forever. The Pearson’s show us just how important it is to not always have it together, but to always be together. The dad, Jack, dies when the “Big Three” are teenagers, missing a significant portion of their lives. Later in the series Randall, who was adopted by Jack and Rebecca, meets his biological father who has late-stage terminal cancer. Randall is willing to drop everything, even missing important work meetings, to spend time with and get to know his birth-father while he still has the chance. The show makes us remember the fact that our parents-or anyone in our lives- won’t always be around, and reminds us to not take the time that we have together for granted, even if its only a short while.
2. There’s nothing stronger than a sibling bond.
The bond between Kate, Kevin, and Randall is one of the strongest relationships that I’ve ever seen. Kate was willing to risk her brand-new relationship with Toby so that she could move cross-country from Los Angeles to New York to be with her brother, Kevin, as he began his theater career. She also never fails to pick up the phone when she sees Kevin’s call, letting Toby know that he has to “play second banana” to her brother. Randall and Kevin have a strong relationship too, now that they’re adults. Although they had a rocky childhood together, it warms our hearts when Randall hears Kevin call him his “brother” for the first time ever. The brotherly love never ends.
3. Follow your dreams and do what feels right.
Remember when Kevin threw a HUGE tantrum on the set of his TV show, “The Manny” because he wanted to do more serious acting? So maybe he didn’t go about it the right way, but he did show us all how to do what feels right for you. Even if you’re already a bigshot Hollywood actor, if you feel like there’s something else that you need to be doing, something better for you, you should do it. Yeah, its scary and could lead to failure, but hey, if Kevin did it so can we.
4. Be spontaneous.
There’s no time to waste in a world that’s so unpredictable and Toby and Kate’s relationship is the epitome of unpredictable. They break up, then they’re back together, Toby flies across the country to surprise Kate, Toby has a heart-attack and is flat lining on Christmas Eve. Needless to say, their relationship is tumultuous, so what better way to conclude this back-and-forth drama than a profession of love leading to a marriage proposal of sorts. As Kate sits by Toby’s hospital bed waiting for him to wake up from the risky surgery he’d just undergone, she pours her heart out confessing that she wants to spend the rest of her life with him. In the most Toby way possible, Toby opens his eyes admitting that he’d heard the whole thing saying “I’d marry the hell out of you, Kate Pearson.”
5. Make the best of what life gives you.
In very first episode of the show, we learn that Rebecca was originally pregnant with triplets, one of whom died during childbirth. Losing a child is one of the absolute worst things that can happen to a family, but with wise advice from Dr. Katowski, Jack and Rebecca were able to take “the sourest lemon that life had to offer and turn it into something resembling lemonade.” In doing this they adopted Randall and ended up taking home three babies from the hospital that day, just not in the way they planned.
6. Family is forever.
If you get nothing out of this show, but the image of a loving family, then you’ve still gotten enough. The Pearson’s have a unique and unconventional family, but it’s what make us love and appreciate them so much. Despite everything they’ve been through and all of the obstacles each member has had to overcome, they are always there for each other no matter what, and they always will be.
