Valuable Life Lessons From ‘Mean Girls’

Julia Conant, Arts & Entertainment Editor

If a cute guy in your math class named Aaron Samuels asks you what day it is tomorrow, be sure to tell him it’s Oct. 3. As for today, on Wednesdays we wear pink.

It has been 15 years since the teen comedy movie “Mean Girls” was released. Though it may seem outdated, the movie can still teach some valuable life lessons about friendships, romance, school, etc.

Don’t let your grades slip for anyone.

When the protagonist, Cady Heron, meets Samuels in her calculus class, she decides that she’ll do anything to spend time with him. One way the two of them can get close is if Samuels tutors Heron. However, Samuels would never believe Heron needs tutoring, as she always achieves perfect grades. To solve this problem, Heron begins failing on purpose.

Wrong decision.

Sure the two spend a couple afternoons solving equations and becoming closer to each other, but Samuels becomes angry with Heron when he discovers that she failed her tests on purpose so that he would tutor him. This causes a hiccup in their relationship, causes Heron’s grades to drop and gets Heron grounded by her parents.

Don’t let what people say about you get to your head.

It’s inevitable; at some point in your life, someone will say something about you that is not particularly nice. However, if you let it bother you, you may act irrationally. The scene that portrays this idea well is when Regina George copies pages from the burn book (a book of insults about every girl in the school) and throws them all over the school. When the girls see the rude things that were said about them, they act like wild animals, fighting each other and screaming.

Thankfully, Principal Duvall stops the chaos and herds the girls into the gymnasium, so they can air out their grievances and make up with one another.

Bottling up your emotions is never good.

We learn this lesson from Gretchen Wieners, who quietly complies to everything George tells her to do. Thanks to George, Wieners isn’t allowed to wear hoop earrings or invent new catchphrases such as “that’s so fetch.”

Wieners finally explodes when she thinks George sent a valentine to Heron, thanking her for being such a good friend. Wieners tells Heron all of the reasons why she has been a good friend to George, including that she kept the secret that George cheats on her boyfriend. Oops.

That being said, don’t hide your emotions. You may end up accidentally saying something you didn’t mean to say.

Stay true to yourself

Over the course of the movie, Heron subconsciously changes from a quiet smart girl to a popular mean girl. She starts ditching her friends for “The Plastics” (the most popular girls at school), and doing things like lying and bad-mouthing others.

Janis Ian, one of Heron’s old friends invites Heron to an art show. Heron says she can’t go because she’s going to a concert with her parents, when in actuality, she is throwing a party. Once Ian discovers this, she curses Heron out, calls her names and makes her feel guilty by showing her the piece she entered in the art show, which was a drawing of Heron, Ian, and their other friend, Damian Leigh.

That is what makes Heron realize she has to change her ways, and she eventually returns to her old ways.

Carry these timeless life lessons with you not only through this semester, but through your whole life. And have a happy Oct. 3 tomorrow.