I think it’s well known by now that I love watching movies and TV shows. I feel like I have learned many things from the characters I admire. I find myself going back and re-watching different entertainment programs so I can find new insights and learning. For example: I have probably seen Clueless close to 20 times. The reason I keep going back to my all-time favorite movies is because I like to see the characters from different perspectives, explore the depth of the individual character and get to know them better. 

Let’s get started… 

Some of my favorite characters include Elle Woods (Legally Blonde), Betty Suarez (Ugly Betty), Cher Horowitz (Clueless), Summer Roberts (The OC), Brooke Davis (One Tree Hill), Serena and Blair (Gossip Girl) and Jenna Rink (13 Going on 30). Although they are really different from each other, their journeys to succeed feel kind of similar.

Legally Blonde, Ugly Betty, Gossip Girl, and Clueless have to be at the top of my list of favourite entertainment programs. What I have learned from each one of the main characters is that they strive to put their best foot forward. I think Betty Suarez, Elle Woods and Blair Waldorf stand out to me the most when it comes to knowing their potential, choosing not to listen to their critics and following their dreams. 

Betty Suarez, Elle Woods, and Blair Waldorf 

In Ugly Betty, Betty Suarez wants to work for Mode magazine. The premise of the show is that she doesn’t really fit the beauty standards of what a magazine editor “should” look like. So Betty has to show people that she brings a lot to the table, even when people don’t think she knows her stuff. 

It’s the same thing with Elle Woods in Legally Blonde. Her classmates think she is too “daft” for Harvard Law School. She proves everyone wrong and ends up being one of the smartest lawyers. [Spoiler alerts: In one scene Elle uses her knowledge of fashion and beauty to help prove that a defendant in a murder trial is innocent: “Isn’t the first cardinal rule of perm maintenance that you’re forbidden to wet your hair for at least 24 hours after getting a perm at the risk of deactivating the ammonium thioglycolate?” With this, Elle shows that one of the witnesses, who has had many perms, is lying about being in the shower at the time of the murder, and is actually the killer.] The moral of the story is that when you are confident in what you know and confident in yourself, you can rise to the challenge. 

In Gossip Girl, Blair demonstrates positive growth throughout the series. I feel like what I learned from Blair is to always know your worth. Throughout the show, she always knows that she has a lot to offer, even if sometimes she doesn’t make the best decisions.

Summer Roberts  

In the earlier seasons of The OC Summer Roberts is a fashion loving, confident, sensitive icon. In the later seasons when she goes off to college, she finds herself liking other activities and having more of a diverse range of hobbies. She is more interested in environmental activism while also being into pop culture, fashion and celeb gossip. While Summer is in her therapy session she tells her therapist about her new interests in environmental activism: “I love shopping, tanning and celeb gossip, always have always will,” but she also enjoys helping the planet. In this scene we see that right beside her Devil Wears Prada poster is another poster about saving the environment. 

What I took from this is that you can have a wide mix of activities and things you enjoy. For example: I listen to and enjoy all sorts of music – pop, country, hiphop, indie, rock, punkrock, dance, and lots of other genres. When I listen to music I can go from listening to Britney Spears to Lana Del Rey to Drake to Keane. Another example: I enjoy the Paris Gossip Girl lifestyle AND I like to add a little bit of pop indie rock into the equation. You can be interested in many different things and evolve. I feel like I have a wide range of eclectic music, interests and hobbies. You don’t have to stick to just one thing. With aesthetics being a huge thing in teen culture, it’s important to know you can branch out! That’s what I like about the character of Summer Roberts. 

Jenna Rink 

Jenna Rink (13 Going on 30) is just really fun. She shows that you can always have fun while being confident. I like how this movie shows how confident she is as a 13-year-old (while being in the body of someone who is 30). I like that she continues to hold her youthful ideologies of how people should be treated and that even at a young age she knows her worth and how the world should be. I have always been inspired by Jenna Rink at Pose Magazine. When she delivers the ending speech about wanting to show real people in the magazine, I like how she is really confident in what she has to say and her vision. I learned from her that you should stick with your vision and what you think is right. 

Overall, I feel like these characters are on a similar journey to be their best, most confident selves. I think confidence starts with a strong mentality and I feel like each character demonstrates that. There are so many different characters to learn from but these are the ones that stood out most for me. Who is one of your fave characters that you have learned from? Let me know in the comments or send me an email. 

Sincerely, 

Sadie