Friends turn 31: 5 lessons it taught us about adulting

The iconic television show, Friends had released 31 years ago today, on September 22, 1994. It began its ten year run, teaching us important lessons on love, life, adulting, and most importantly, friendship. Happy birthday to the show that is dear to so many!

Five lessons Friends taught us

Friends gave us some important lessons on adulting and dealing with the challenges that come with it. Here's a look at 5 such lessons.

The power of true friendship!

A story of six friends, Friends was all about the power of chosen family. All challenges that adult life throws at us can become little less challenging if you have loving and supportive friends by your side.

The story of six friends, Monica, Rachel, Phoebe, Ross, Chandler and Joey always had each others' backs, come rain or storm. Together, they navigated through life, dealt with heartbreaks, loss, but at the end of the day, loved each other through the ugly parts.

It's never too late to start over

Friends taught us that there is no deadline for dreams, no matter what the world says. Rachel started afresh and tasted independence in her mid-20s and had to work as a waitress till she followed her dream to work in fashion.

Joey never gave up on his dream to become an actor and Phoebe kept pushing herself to follow her passions, never paying heed to age.

Life may not always go as planned

Things do not always turn out as we expect them to be, and that is okay. Friends showed us that when one door closes, another one opens and probably even brings in more happiness. The show begins with Ross's divorce and he had least expected it. Despite thinking that his life was probably over, Ross found love again. In fact, even three divorces did not deter his life.

Monica always wanted to become a mother only to realise that she could not have children. But that did not stop, she built a beautiful family with Chandler after adopting twins!

Do not lose yourself no matter what

Friends helped us be confident in how we are. It taught us to not just embrace but celebrate our weird, quirky, childish selves. Life can be hard, but a little laughter and humour can really help!

Phoebe defied the set ways of the world at every step and was always true to herself. Despite the taunts, Ross never stopped showing love for Paleontology and Joey never let go of his inner child, no matter how much the world asked him to grow up.

There is no one way to become parents

In many ways, Friends showed the way in terms of breaking social taboos and stereotypes. Adulting comes with a lot of responsibilities, which further double up if you decide to become parents. However, this sitcom showed us that parenthood can come in different shapes.

The three female leads of the show represented three different kinds of pregnancy or motherhood. Phoebe helped her brother, Frank and his wife, Alice by being a surrogate to their triplets. Rachel was a single mother to her beautiful daughter Emma who she shared with Ross and Monica adopted twins with Chandler.

For more updates, join/follow our WhatsApp, Telegram and YouTube channels.