12 Important Lessons from 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas' for Twenty Somethings

Dr.Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas is my all time favorite movie, and not in a it's-my-favorite-holiday-movie kind of way. I mean, I can watch Jim Carrey covered in green fuzz whether it's Christmas Eve or Fourth of July. There has never been a time when I've seen the movie on TV and not dropped everything I was doing to watch it.

When I was younger I was fascinated with Jim Carrey and all the strange looking Whos in Whoville. During my teens I soaked up how amazing the set design was and now in my twenties I'm realizing that I may or may not have grown into a real life version of the Grinch. Except less hairy and much more stressed about holidays like Valentine's Day. 

This weekend I realized I went as far as to name my cat Max, just like the lovable sidekick dog. After way too many hours spent watching a film that just gets better with time, I sat myself down and wrote out all the lessons you can learn from this movie, except they're not about togetherness or holiday cheer, cause that's way too commercial you know?

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Self awareness is important. 

How many of you look back at a point in your life and wonder how stupid you had to be to put up with something or someone? Pay attention to how things and people in your environment are making you feel. If something or someone ruins your day every time you come in contact, get rid of that stressor. Also, if all your friends hate someone, and I mean all of them, take that hint. 

Some nights you just need to stay home and singer a power ballad.

I'm not the only girl who has secret home alone behaviors, am I? Ever since I was a preteen I have lived for those few hours when you're home alone and there's no chance of anyone walking through the front door and disturbing your peace. After a long week in the office, sometimes all I wanna do is run home, take off my pants and sing some Taylor Swift songs while deep cleaning my apartment.

Related Post: 8 Weird Things I Do When Home Alone

You don't have to be friends with everyone. 

Sophomore year of college is when I realized I didn't have to be friends with absolutely everyone, and my life has been so much better since. I'm not saying be rude to people, but there's no need to learn everything about a person just because a friend of a friend brought them to your night out. When you stop trying to be best friends with everyone you meet you'll be surprised how much closer you grow to the people you genuinely care about.

Don't get too preoccupied with things.

Listen up, our twenties are the years we're meant to be broke while trying to still look fabulous. If you know a person who always has the newest gadget and is taking trips all over the place, chances are they are lacking somewhere else. So yeah, I am still rocking my iPhone 4s, but that's just cause all my money goes to my fabulous apartment in the city.

Progress is progress, no matter how small. 

Whether you're trying to lose some pounds or boost your GPA (or pageviews for the bloggers reading this), don't discount your progress because it isn't major. Nobody gets famous overnight, unless you post something really offensive on Facebook and it gets shared thousands of times. But nevertheless, keep working towards your goals, and hold onto that motivation you had when you first set them. 

Be your own biggest fan.

Everyone needs a squad to remind them how awesome they are for passing their classes, getting that new job or just making it a week without contacting their ex. But what's a girl to do when all her friends are way too far away? Be your own damn fan! I'm not saying become totally self involved, but there's no shame in telling yourself how awesome you are for meeting that deadline and taking out the garbage before it smelled. 

You're not alone in hating the Christmas music in October.

This is especially true if you work in retail. Christmas is a great time of year, totally on board with the happiness, presents and togetherness it promotes. But when Christmas starts clashing with Halloween, oh no no no. The holidays can already be lonely when you're trying to be a successful adult away from home, so can we save the jolly tunes till December?

Ignore the trends, wear what makes you confident.

Raise your hand if the scene with the Grinch trying on multiple outfits totally touched you on a personal level. (*raises hand) I'm sorry, but crop tops don't look good on me. Not because I feel I'm too large for them or have an abnormal looking belly button, it's because I'm twenty freaking three and have no business wearing bralets with oversized cardigans. Ignore the trends and wear what looks good on you, or better yet, whatever outfit makes you walk down the street like you're on your way to steal someones man. But don't don't that, cause that's a terrible thing to do in actuality.

We all grow feeling for boys who don't deserve them. 

Boys are like bras, you never know if they're worth the investment till you've brought it home and decided to wear the next day. That's when they decide to be a total pain in your side and you literally rather walk around sans either than be totally miserable for a moment longer. Don't waste time on boys or bras that don't make you feel 1000% more confident. 

All those feel good articles about roommates are lies. 

You don't know the joy of coming home after a long day until you come home and find there's no one there. No seriously, I know it sounds depressing but it's not. Roommates can be great, except when you're tired and they wanna tell you all about this thing that happened in the office that you could not care any less about. Trust me, the moment you can afford it, get your own place ASAP.

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Pets are the perfect companion.

Just because you should enjoy a roommate free existence doesn't mean you have to be alone though! Pets are the perfect way to help you feel less lonely without intruding on your space. Unless you also happened to adopt a cat who has no respect for personal space between the hours of 1-7am. Pets not only provide company, but also serve as a way to be responsible for something that does nothing but love you back. Even when you forget to buy more food on the way home. 

Make time for yourself. 

So many of us juggle work, school and hopefully a personal life. With deadlines at school that are impossible to meet when you work forty or more hours a week, it can be hard to sit yourself down and relax. And I don't mean watching Netflix while stressing about how you're wasting time watching that episode of The Office for the seventh time, cause that is not relaxation! Do something for you whether it's taking a walk or buying that expensive face mask you've been eyeing at Target. Treat yo'self!

Are there any lessons I missed? Leave me a note with your favorite movie (Christmas or otherwise) and why it beats all others in the comments below!