6 Life Lessons Friends Taught Me

Since it's the 21st anniversary of Friends, the greatest TV show ever created, I thought I would write about what each "Friend" has taught me about life.

Monica Geller

Monica taught me to let your freak flag fly. Although she is my least favorite character, Monica doesn't apologize for being herself. She is highly obsessive, uptight, and incredibly high maintenance but she allows her closest friends to see her true self, so they are able to all laugh it off. Also, she tells it like it is. She doesn't sugar coat things for her friends and forces them to see what they may not want to at the time. Monica does this many, many times for Rachel and her countless moments of weakness with Ross. 

Rachel Green

Rachel taught me that you can make mistakes when you're young, but learn from them. When we first meet Rachel Green, she is a runaway bride. Although she was raised with Prada and yachts, Rachel learns the hard way about becoming an adult and working for her money. Whenever I'm feeling down about not having enough money or seeing my bank account cleaned out by rent or student loans, I just think, "If Rachel Green can do it, so can I." 

Phoebe Buffay

Phoebe Buffay: Buried Alive. Phoebe taught me that it's perfectly fine to be weird. And to be yourself. Most of the time, you have no clue what she's actually talking about, but you love her anyways because she is so authentic. She also taught me to fiercely love my friends, because Phoebe's family is so chaotic that she considers her friends to be family. 

Joey Tribbiani 

Joey taught me quite possibly the greatest lesson of all: not to share my food. Well that, and he taught me heart. Although Joey wasn't the smartest crayon in the box, he had more heart than any of the other five friends combined. You could clearly see from any episode that if one of them truly needed him, he would come running. It was also heartwarming to see Joey step up to the plate when Rachel was his pregnant roommate for a tiny bit. 

Ross Geller

Ross taught me that even though life gets you down, you have to pick yourself back up. His character is very much known for having trials and tribulations, with his Eeyore-like "Hi.." revealing to the audience when he was really down and out. But, through all of his divorces and breakups, Ross still managed to find the positive, and the funny. 

Chandler Bing

My all-time favorite character obviously taught me to find the humor in life. Delivering some of my most quotable one-liners, Chandler Bing is the epitome of funny. Although he is all jokes, Chandler also taught me that humor can come from love. Throughout all ten seasons of the show, Chandler's wise-cracks all came from a place of pure love and admiration for his friends. Sometimes, he would even make jokes because he knew they were going through something tough, like the episode right after Ross and Rachel break up for the first time. Chandler is overflowing with jokes during the whole episode, which is clearly an attempt to distract his friends from the fact that this happy union has come to an end. If Joey is the heart of "Friends," Chandler is the well-meaning funny bone. 

Happy 21st anniversary to a wonderfully funny show with characters filled with heart and friendship! Who is your favorite friend and what did they teach you about life? 

5 of the Most Magical Roald Dahl Movie Adaptations

Happy Roald Dahl Day! Not only is this a day to celebrate one of the most inspirational children's authors that ever lived, but it's a day to honor his creative work in literature and adaptations into film. I may be biased because I'm obsessed with everything involving this man, but here are a few of my favorite film adaptations from this wonderful fella.

Fantastic Mr. Fox

Directed by Wes Anderson, Fantastic Mr. Fox has a funky vibe with loads of sarcasm, so it's just great. It keeps relatively close to the original plot of the novel, with Fox and his wife living under a dangerous tree near a farm. Their son, Ash, is an adorable ball of emotions, and his new pal Kristofferson makes his sullen personality shine. I always loved this rebellious, snarky tale of Fox taking on the man, which was the Berk's Squab Farm, and George Clooney does a flawless job bringing Fox's personality to life. There are other Wes Anderson regulars who lend their voices to different characters in the film, with Bill Murray voicing Badger, Josh Schwartzman as Ash, Owen Wilson as Coach Skip, and Wes Anderson even plays the part of Stan Weasel. If you loved Dahl's book, you will get a kick out of this adaptation. 

Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory

If you haven't seen this movie, you never had a childhood. That's right, I said it. Roald Dahl's Charlie & the Chocolate Factory is a classic story of a young boy whose dreams of touring a mansion filled with candy, chocolate, and small, yet judgmental men were answered in a golden ticket. While there was a more recent adaptation done with Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka, I much prefer this version. Gene Wilder is Willy Wonka. The actor is the embodiment of the inner child that is Wonka's character. Don't lie, that tunnel scene gave you nightmares. 

Matilda

This movie is everything. Being a 90's child, I clearly associate it with my childhood. When reading this book, and then watching the movie, I felt such a connection to Matilda. She's a young girl who is bold and doesn't care what people think of her. Her family looks down on her for her love of books, but she continues to learn anyway. Dahl taught all young children that reading can not only be an escape, but can bring people together. The classic book and movie was recently adapted into a play, which I would die to see. Last, but certainly not least, Trunchbull is the worst. 

James and the Giant Peach

Although this movie has a sullen tone, the songs get stuck right into your head and the characters are lively. I absolutely love that this adaptation starts out live action, and when James eats the peach, the world is magically transformed into animation. Also, all of the bugs from the beginning part of the movie have come alive and are living inside the giant peach with James. It's a wonderful tale of adventure and friendship, and how important love is over violence or greed. 

The Witches 

By far one of the strangest books, and adaptations from Dahl, but it's a movie you'll never not watch when it's on TV. Anjelica Huston slays as the Grand High Witch, leading her gaggle of cackling witches in a quaint little English town. My all time favorite part of the book is when Luke, the main character, sneaks into the witch's meeting and sees that all of the things his grandmother told him about witches are true. Slowly but surely, we see the witches go from beautiful women to disgusting witches. They take off their wigs, and shoes, which reveal the true nature of their feet: completely square. While it's an incredibly silly scene, I always loved how imaginative Dahl was in terms of the witches, and how Luke's grandmother was right all along. 

Happy Roald Dahl Day! Be sure to celebrate this magical author's work by either reading his tales or watching any of these great adaptations! What's your favorite adaptation? 

My Favorite Quotes about Reading

Today is International Literacy Day! It's so, so important that children all over the world still know the joy and magic of reading, and I'm inspired by these quotes on a daily basis. Reading is sexy, after all.

Frederick Douglass is the embodiment of this quote. During the time of slavery, being a literate slave was unheard of. Douglass learned to read by copying bible verses and hearing sermons recited out loud. We don't appreciate the ability to read until we realize how precious it can be to others.

I may want this tattooed on my body at some point, because it's one of the more beautiful quotes ever said, in my humble opinion. Personally, reading is a constant gift and starting a new book is like Christmas.

Reading can also be an escape for so many people. If you are stressed from a long day at work, dealing with family, or relationship, drama, just crack open a book and get away from it all. Go ahead, take yourself to another world filled with wise-cracking centaurs, or loyal hobbits.

Nothing scares me more than my mind deteriorating. I'll be reading until my last day on this earth, you can count on that. My Yaya (or my grandmother, for the non-Greek folks,) is past 80 and she still reads her usual murder mystery novels. It's a tradition near and dear to my heart to visit her and just sit in silence and read a good book. She has dementia, so it's nice to have memories with her right now.

This one doesn't need too much explanation because Roald Dahl is the king of children's literacy. In his time, he urged parents to throw away their TV sets and head towards their bookcases instead. Dahl was ahead of his time in knowing the true importance of children and literacy.

J.K., I love you girl. Speaking personally, bedtime stories are part of the reason I love to read so much as an adult. My mom bought me countless books as a child, and I lived for bedtime so I could choose my adventure before falling asleep. It's something every child should get to experience.

So let's hear it, what's your favorite book and how did it inspire you to read more?

This is Erica (As Told By Friends & Family)

My awesome ginger friend, Morgan, gave me some inspiration for my latest blog post! She created an introduction to herself by having her friends and families write about her! I decided to do the same, and totally did not force my family and close friends to write an introduction about me. 

So, here we go. Get a little glance into the silliness that is Erica as told by my family and friends: 

Morgan, my blogger (and fellow ging) friend: This is Erica. She's a totally rad red-headed land mermaid who would marry an avocado if it were a man. She loves her furry son, Gus, and he loves her back because she's awesome. Obviously.

Lauren, my super rad friend: This is Erica... she's a dedicated dog mommy who has an unnatural obsession with Avocados and burritos, but it's ok because she posts hilarious memes about it, which I thoroughly enjoy. She can hold a great conversation and loves her some Harry Potter!

Alison, one of my best friends: This is Erica...she is the best at taking awkwardly adorable photos with her dad (and friends too!), she is on point with hilarious and sarcastic gifs, she could probably start a food blog with all the food porn pics she posts and she is going to marry Rupert Grint one day and have ginger babies...which would make me very very happy.

Kara, quite possibly the sweetest human alive: This is Erica...she is well-versed in sarcasm and often provides hilarious one-liner-zingers to my ridiculous social media posts, which I quite literally laugh-out-loud to upon reading. She is insanely supportive, so if I am having a bad self-esteem day, I should probably hit her up because she certainly knows how to cheer a girl up. Erica is a fellow romantic and is still waiting to know if my boyfriend's brothers are recently single...I'm working on it. She is a fellow-lover of folk music, avocados, and dogs. So I think that automatically makes her trustworthy and a good human.

Christina, a genuinely beautiful person:

Accepting of everyone and everything 
Ridiculously hilarious 
Inspirationally intelligent 

Clever 
Above all else, one of the most genuine people that has graced earth 

What does it spell?! ERICA! Erica is one of those people that you wish you were friends with since birth. From blogger, dog lover, great daughter and sister, book worm and everyday ginger pride leader. This lady has got it all.

I realize this is a different format than "This is Erica.." but I don't care. It's adorable. 

Eilene, a fellow nerd and fierce individual: This is Miss Erica: has such shiny orange wavy hair, you would think she's a Disney princess.  She has a PHD in Harry Potter, along with a masters degree in Rupert Grint and a bachelors degree in Comic-Con Hall H Panels. What can't this woman do?  She's sweet, kind but also she's FIRE so be careful.

Erica. 

We can't replace that. We need her on this earth. We need Erica's (red headed) energy. 

Thank you for your presence. You're like, omg cool.

My wonderful mother: This is Erica, my baby girl that has the biggest heart I have ever seen. She is a lover of words, animals and authors. Wears her heart right out there in the open. She is beautiful and bright, full of life's light. I am so proud to be her Mom. She is my red headed lioness, strong, beautiful , smart and growing into a wonderful women!

Mom, STAHP. 

Katelyn, the best friend a girl can have: This is Erica...she is someone that you cannot forget, and someone that will not forget about you. A vibrant personality just seems to radiate from those fiery locks. Once you're friends with this living, breathing ray of sunshine, be thankful, because she'll always be there for you. Like the sun, she will always come back around to check in on you, to say hey, and it will always feel like you haven't been apart for more than a single day. Even if you've been apart for six years.

I think I got quite the response for this post. To be honest, I started crying halfway through writing this post because I feel so lucky to have these people in my life. 

From these introductions, it's very clear that I love dogs, avocados, and being ginger. Those are just the trifecta. It's so nice to know there are people who truly appreciate you for exactly who you are. Nothing more, nothing less.

This post was more sentimental, but I promise to write something way more interesting for my next post. I'm thinking it will be Frankenstein themed because I just finished the COOLEST Frankenstein graphic novel by Gris Grimly. It's gunna be good, guys. Don't miss it. 

Lastly, thank you to all my friends and family who took time out of their day to write something for this post. You all mean so much to me and I love you dearly.