Credit: Nickelodeon
It’s been over 20 years of SpongeBob and his friends bringing smiles to people’s faces all over the world. Now that those who grew up watching the show are taking on adult life, here is a list of life lessons our favourite characters have taught us throughout the years that are even more relevant to us today.
SpongeBob – embrace your inner child
Bubbly and carefree SpongeBob proves to us that the best adults are the ones who embrace their inner child. The many responsibilities and commitments of adult life may get in the way of dreaming big and enjoying the little things in life. SpongeBob reminds us to stay curious, playful, active, and joyful. Embracing your inner child will help you relieve stress and ignite creativity. I mean who wouldn’t want to be as content and energetic at their 9-5 as SpongeBob is?
Patrick Star – give yourself some time off
With our busy adult life it’s often hard to give yourself the well deserved time off and Patrick wants us all to remember to work hard, but play much harder. Some of Patrick’s favourite hobbies include napping, eating ice cream, and blowing bubbles – I have already added those to my calendar and recommend you do too.
Squidward – create art even if others hate
Even though Squidward is not the most cheerful character in the show, we know that he does have passions, particularly art. Clarinet, piano, portraits, sculpture, pottery, dance – he can do it all, however, not everyone seems to support his artistic pursuits. Haters gonna hate. Yet Squidward doesn’t care because he knows not everyone has good taste in art.
Sandy – never forget where you are from
Texas-born Sandy Cheeks originally came to Bikini Bottom to study sea creatures and their lifestyle and unexpectedly ended up making lots of friends. With her heavy Southern accent and all the “howdy”s and “y’all”s, Sandy is a proud cowgirl. Confessing her love to her home state in an emotional song, Sandy encourages all to be loud and proud of where we come from.
Gary – less is more
Gary is a sea snail of few meows but his every meow is worth a thousand words. Gary shows us that the ones who talk less have the most brain power. His single meow has solved many of SpongeBob’s dilemmas. Gary can also play the violin, tie his shoes, and pay his owner’s electricity bills – a quiet snail of many talents.
Plankton – never give up
Oh how many times have we seen Plankton’s plans fail yet he never gives up. Even though his plans are mostly evil, we all have to admit that Plankton’s ambition and determination are quite impressive. Plankton encourages us to never give up on your (hopefully non-evil) dreams and always keep pushing.
Karen – support those you love even when they fail
Karen is Plankton’s other half – the two love to take long walks under the beach and talk about their wishes of conquering Bikini Bottom. The couple excels at mixing work (attempting to steal the secret formula) with pleasure and Karen is always there to cheer Plankton up when his yet another evil plan fails. Ironically, we all can learn a lesson from a supercomputer with no heart on how to support our loved ones.
All together, the show’s characters teach us another important lesson – always be yourself. Every single Bikini Bottom resident is unapologetically themselves and encourages us all to do the same. It seems that SpongeBob and his friends had a lot more to teach us than our younger selves might have realized.
Celebrate SpongeBob’s birthday today by eating ice cream, blowing bubbles, and watching SpongeBob Squarepants on Paramount + !
