Many of us have fallen into the obsession of the NYC based TV show, "Gossip Girl." Throughout the continuous drama and ridiculous situations that happen in the series, I continue to find myself clicking 'next episode' until I finished the entire show.
We all have our favorite character. You may like Blair Waldorf's bold, Queen B attitude or Chuck Basses's 'bad boy' yet really charming and sweet on the inside persona. You may identify with Dan Humphrey's mysteriously sleek writer from Brooklyn style or the 'golden boy' that's always in a mess charisma of Nate Archibald.
For me, I've always admired one particular character and that is Serena van der Woodsen. During the series, she continually displays her bright, bubbly, and carefree personality. We often find her making an array of bad decisions, but in the end I mostly find her going back to her good-natured self.
Through the series, there are many things I learned from Serena. Some good lessons but many lessons I learned that I hope to not repeat.
1. Always keep your best friend.
Every fight between Serena and Blair had me anticipating their reconciliation. However, every argument, no matter how big or small, made them closer in the end. Serena (and Blair) taught me to always have that one solid person in your life. Tough trials hit both girls throughout the show, but the encouragement of each other kept them strong in the hard times. For many of the same reasons, I stay close to my best friends.
2. You can't run away from life.
Serena is known to be the runaway queen in the show. She often talks about wanting to recreate her life away from the Upper East Side with new people and new sights. She seems to run away after she makes a huge mistake to avoid dealing with it. She leaves with no note or notice, disappointing and upsetting her loved ones. I learned from Serena that life will catch up with us whether we like it or not. Whether it's from a person, circumstance, or my own thoughts alone, anything I try to avoid will catch up to me. In the end, I find it's always easier to deal with our problems now than allow them to build up over time.
3. Finding attention in the wrong places can hurt us.
There's a certain part of one of the seasons where Serena purposely parties and makes wild decisions in order to get her face on magazines and tabloids in hopes her dad will finally notice her. Even though she does reconnect with her father, she finds a lot of disappointment and pain. She often mentions that she thinks she will be complete if she rekindles the relationship with her father. After all, she still feels as if something is missing. She's still left hurt and empty. I learned after watching this that looking for love in all the wrong can leave us still feeling hurt in the end. I know that the one place I can be satisfied is in the love of Christ.
4. The "right guy" doesn't exist in the way we think he does.
Serena has an array of guys she dates throughout the show. She even wrestles with choosing and going back and forth between guys such as Dan and Nate. Even though she ends up with the love of her life, Dan Humphrey, she finds that even he wasn't the perfect guy she thought she'd end up with. As humans, we are entirely imperfect and will let down our loved ones. I learned that I may not end up with the "right" guy but I trust that God will divinely place the perfect imperfect guy He made for me in His timing.
5. The people who seem to have everything probably don't at all.
Serena seems to have everything. She's the Upper East Side 'It Girl.' She has money, cute clothes, beautiful hair, guys fawning over her, prestigious schools, dream vacations, a house in the Hamptons, and more. Even with her glamorous life seen on the outside, she deals with problems in her family, constant drama, people trying to tear her down, being in public eye, and people watching and judging her every move. Though she has all these nice things, she often feels like something is missing. Many times I find myself envying people that seem to have their life "together." I have to pull myself back into reality and realize that no one has their life together. I learned that the people with these "fantasy" lives aren't as fabulous as we think once we step into their shoes.
6. Love the broken people.
Like I've said, through the many disastrous decisions Serena makes, I still continue to love her till the end. Serena mostly seems to remember how much she loves and cares about her family and close friends even after they may hurt her or let her down. I learned that I have to continue to love those close to me no matter what. Serena is a broken mess and heck, so am I. I learned that I have to also continue to love myself even through my brokenness, just in the way God loves me as well.
Even though I've finished the series, I still love to go back and binge watch my favorite episodes and return to the lives of my favorite, fictional Upper Eastsiders. Even though the show is long over and contrary to what Gossip Girl may say, Serena is not irrelevant.
Xoxo, Gossip Girl
