Lesson #10: Listen to Your Parents

Like most people my age, I have certainly had my fair share of arguments with my parents. However, as painful as it is for me to admit, they almost always turn out to be right in the end. I'm beginning to make my peace with it but I'll be honest, that doesn't stop me from occasionally trying to prove to my mother that she might be wrong every great once in a while (spoiler alert: still hasn't happened). To her credit, she has never failed to be there for me when I suffer the consequences of not listening to her, though not without a brief lecture about how "your mother is always right!" I'll take it though, because my mom has taught me so many invaluable lessons that I'll carry with me throughout my life. Sure, I learned some of them the hard way, but I'll be forever thankful to my mother for guiding me through it.

So, with this in mind, I'd like to share with you some lessons that we can all learn from the parents of Friends:

Don't be afraid to shake things up ~ Jack Geller

Jack Geller (Ross and Monica's dad) is probably my favorite parent on the show, mainly due to the fact that he says the most outrageous things without even realizing it. One of my favorite Jack Geller moments is when he tells Monica, in the wake of her grandmother's death, that when his time comes, he'd like to be buried at sea.

Maybe Jack has a point here, although I certainly don't think you have to wait until you die to change things up. 

Be your most authentic self ~ Charles Bing/Helena Handbasket

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the show, Chandler's parents divorced when he was 9 after his father came out as gay. Since then, he became a drag queen and joined an all-male burlesque show called "Viva Las Gaygas." 

Although Chandler wasn't exactly on board with his father's lifestyle, Charles never compromised himself and continued to live the life he loved. While Chandler and his father didn't get along for a while, they eventually make up with each other and as you can see in the clip above, Charles agrees to go to Chandler and Monica's wedding. 

Be with someone who makes you happy ~ Sandra Green

When we first meet Rachel's mom, she displays a lot of the characteristics we first saw in Rachel at the beginning of the show (spoiled, lofty, dependent on others). However, she soon announces to Rachel that she's considering leaving her husband. After seeing Rachel leading such an independent, happy life, Sandra realized that she was unhappy with her own.

Rachel's mom shows us that it's never too late to make a change and that you should never compromise your own happiness for things like financial security or luxury. You deserve to be with someone you love, and even if it takes you a little longer to realize that, you still have the right to decide for yourself what is best for you. 

With Thanksgiving coming up next week, I think that we should all try to set some time aside to really thank our parents for everything that they've done for us. Whether we'd like to admit it or not, they have a lot of wisdom to offer us and I know that personally I wouldn't be where I am today without the guidance of my two biggest supporters. 

Images and video courtesy of (in order of appearance):

• Bustle
• PureBloodPaul
• Netflix

Lesson #9: Never Let an Opportunity Pass You By

As a college student, I find that opportunities tend to present themselves left and right, you just have to keep your eyes open for them. There is pretty much a club for anything you can think of that interests you, and if you can't find specifically what you're looking for, you always have the option to make it happen yourself. There are also countless internships and research opportunities available for students pursuing all kinds of career paths. The only hard part is seizing the moment and taking advantage of that opportunity.

There are then, of course, the once in a lifetime opportunities that you just so happen to stumble upon by chance. One of those such opportunities might be, for example, being "locked in an ATM vestibule with Jill. Goodacre."

Chandler finds himself presented with this very opportunity during a blackout in New York City. When he discovers that the blackout has caused the doors to lock from the inside, he turns around to complain to the woman trapped there with him, only to realize that it's Victoria Secret model Jill Goodacre. 

In a true testament to his own awkwardness, Chandler spends the first fourteen minutes of his time having an inner monologue with himself, thinking of something to say to her. Jill finally breaks the ice and asks if he'd like to use her cell phone to call someone. Chandler calls Joey and alerts him to the fact that he has been presented with this once in a lifetime opportunity. After he hangs up, Jill offers him a piece of gum. His response?

Clearly Chandler has never been in this type of situation before (or perhaps any situation that was one-on-one with a woman), but he is determined to take advantage of this opportunity. He decides to impress her by blowing a bubble, something that he thinks has a "boyish charm" to it. However, he accidentally spits the gum out instead of blowing a bubble. In an attempt to recover, he quickly shoves the piece of gum back in his mouth, only to realize that it's not his gum. He subsequently begins to choke on it.

Now I know what you're thinking. Chandler has definitely blown this crazy, once in a lifetime chance to impress this model. His awkwardness has definitely gotten the best of him here, and he's just going to have to let this one go, right? I mean, if you're like me, you kind of lost hope after the whole "gum would be perfection" thing anyway. But maybe Chandler can still salvage this.

Jill rushes to his aid and performs the Heimlich on him. He tries to thank her, saying "That was... That was..." She smiles at him and offers, "...Perfection?" Chandler's luck takes a turn here and by the end of the episode, he and Jill are talking and joking around with each other. When the power finally comes back on, Jill tells Chandler that she "had a great blackout" with him and kisses him on the cheek. The episode ends with Chandler looking up at the security camera in the vestibule and asking for a copy of the tape.

So, Chandler didn't end up blowing his opportunity after all! It might have taken him some time to get things going, but in the end I'd say he has a pretty successful blackout after all.

Images and video courtesy of (in order of appearance):

• Huffington Post
• Friends Season 1
• hellowonderland
• Buzzfeed
• Head Over Feels

Lesson #8: Don't Be Afraid to Try New Things

I'm someone who loves to discover new things; I'll try anything once. I think that entering into college this year has been so much fun for me for that very reason--I've already had so many opportunities to try new things. I've met new people, made new friends, and become involved in several organizations on campus, just to name a few. This semester has really pushed me out of my comfort zone, and I'm so grateful for that. I think that amazing things can happen to you when you branch out from what you're familiar with and try something different. It can be a little scary, but sometimes the coolest things in life are the things you haven't tried yet!

A great example of someone who really stepped out of his comfort zone and tried something new is Chandler. For the first eight seasons of the series, Chandler works in an office at un unspecified company, first as a Data Processor. He clearly despises this job and decides to quit during the first season when his boss offers him a promotion. His reasoning is that if he were to take the promotion, "it would be like admitting that's actually what I do." However, his boss calls to offer him a generous raise and Chandler eventually agrees to take the job as Processing Supervisor. He keeps this job for the next seven years, although it is a running joke on the show that no one actually knows what Chandler does.

When Chanler's job transfers him to Tulsa and requires him to spend Christmas there, he figures out that he would rather be spending time with his wife and friends, so he decides to quit for good. However, this presents him with a serious challenge as he "doesn't know what to do with [his] life anymore." Monica helps him consider possible career choices and he decides that he wants to pursue a job in advertising, something that he's never done before. He ends up having a real talent for it and becomes a Junior Advertising Copywriter.

Because of his willingness to step outside of his comfort zone and try something new, Chandler was able to find a job that he was passionate about and actually enjoyed doing.

However, as we learned last week, things don't always work out for the best, but that doesn't mean you still shouldn't try them! Sometimes you have to risk failure in order to discover something amazing. That being said, sometimes all you discover is that you should never try to make a trifle ever, ever again.

 

In another Thanksgiving-themed example, Rachel decides to do something that she doesn't often attempt: cook. For Thanksgiving dinner, she tells everyone that she's going to be in charge of making the desert, an english trifle that she found the recipe for in a magazine. However, two of the magazine pages stick together and she ends up making half of a trifle and half of a shepherd's pie.

Her friends are gracious about it and eat the trifle anyway, but Rachel eventually learns that the dessert, in the words of Ross, "tastes like feet." 

Even though it might not always be a success, I still really believe that it's important to try new things. You may not get the result that you were looking for, but I can guarantee that you by branching out, you will always learn something about yourself, whether it's your talent for coming up with advertising slogans for everyday objects or your inability to make a trifle.

Media courtesy of (in order of appearance):

• Transponsters
• Ashley Nichole
• Bustle.com
• TBS

Lesson #7: Things Don't Always Turn out the Way You Plan

As someone who likes to overthink and over-analyze many of life's situations, this is a lesson that I still sometimes have trouble with. It's hard when you put a lot of thought or effort into something and it still doesn't go the way you wanted, but (and I KNOW this is a cliché) that's life. We don't always get a say in how things turn out, but we do get do choose how we handle these outcomes. There have been many times in my life that things haven't turned out exactly the way I wanted or expected them to, but whether that was good or bad depended on how I decided to view the situation. I think that Friends does a really great job of illustrating this concept, because things rarely seem to work out exactly the way you think it will for this bunch, but they really manage to make the best of it.

So with Thanksgiving coming up in the next few weeks, what better example is there than the episode where Monica's first Thanksgiving dinner was ruined by a giant inflatable Underdog balloon?

Okay so maybe it wasn't exactly Underdog's fault, but when Monica agrees to cook Thanksgiving dinner for everyone, she is interrupted when Chandler bursts in the apartment to tell everyone that the Underdog balloon in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade has gotten lose and this might be everyone's only chance to see "an 80-ft inflatable dog loose over the city." The group runs out the door to get to the roof, and Rachel and Monica forget to grab the keys to the apartment, thinking the other one has grabbed them. They get back and realize that neither has the key, and while Chandler and Joey have a spare, it takes a while for them to locate it. By the time they manage to get back into the apartment, the turkey is burnt and the Thanksgiving dinner that Monica has worked so hard to make is ruined.

Obviously, Monica is pretty upset that an entire day's worth of slaving away in the kitchen has quite literally gone up in smoke. It also doesn't make it better that following Rachel's complaints that she missed her flight to see her family, Joey exclaims that they "all had better plans, okay? This was nobody's first choice!" And although he's right (Monica and Ross were going to spend the holiday with their parents, Joey was going to go home to see his family, and Rachel was going to go skiing with her family in Vail), Monica takes offense to this comment. The group breaks out into an argument and the scene jumps to several hours later where the group is somberly sitting around, no longer speaking. Seconds later, however, Phoebe makes an observation that changes the mood.

Even though this Thanksgiving dinner was not at all how anyone thought it would be, things still turned out pretty well because the important elements of the holidays—family and friends—were still there. Even Chandler, who generally hates Thanksgiving, was really glad that the day's disastrous events had transpired in order to bring them all together.

So, things might not always turn out the way you plan. I know that "no one told you life was gonna be this way [*clapclapclapclap*]" but sometimes you just have to roll with the changes and make the best of them.

Images/Videos Courtesy of:

• paperblog
• Caitlyn Walter

Lesson #6: Good Friends Last a Lifetime

Over the span of our lifetimes, we will form hundreds of friendships. However, only a few of those friendships will stand the test of time. These friendships are typically made when we are younger and are carried on through our adult lives. I am lucky enough to still be best friends with a girl that I met in third grade, and I know that no matter how many years go by, she will continue to remain my best friend. Friendships like that don't come along very often; they truly are blessings and we shouldn't take them for granted. The importance of having these sort of long-term friendships is highlighted in Friends by two best friend duos: Monica & Rachel and Chandler & Ross.

Monica and Rachel

Monica and Rachel have known each other since grade school, making them the pair with the longest friendship of any of the other characters on the show. They were friends long before Rachel's new nose, Monica's weight loss, and the creation of the friends gang. They were also there for each other through all of life's important moments, like Rachel's first job, Monica's wedding, and the birth of their children.

One of the things that makes Monica and Rachel's friendship unique from some of the other relationships on the show is that we get to see further back into their past via flashbacks. This provides us with an insight into how deep their friendship is and how it has grown over the years. It also allows us to enjoy some of their sick 80s dance moves.

Monica and Rachel showed us the definition of best friend goals over the period of ten seasons. They showed us what it means to have someone's back and support them in whatever they do, because they'll be there for you.

Chandler and Ross

After Monica and Rachel, Chandler and Ross have the next-longest running friendship on the show, having been best friends since they were roommates in college. They've been together through some questionable fashion choices and even formed a band together (Way? No Way!).

Chandler and Ross are another best friend duo that has clearly withstood the test of time, however they never got as much attention as Monica and Rachel's friendship. Even though their relationship was seriously under-appreciated, we were still able to see it developed in a similar fashion to the girls': through flashbacks. In the video clip above, we see Chandler and Ross make a pact to both refrain from asking a woman out so as to not hurt their friendship. This act demonstrates how important the friendship is to both of them (....even though we find out later in this episode that the pact was broken years ago).

Something that deepens their friendship even more is when Chandler begins to date Monica, who is Ross's sister. At first when he hears the news, Ross is slightly upset.

However, upon further reflection, he determines that there is no one else he would trust more than his best friend to date his little sister. When Monica and Chandler get married, Chandler asks Ross to be his best man because there is no one he would rather have by his side than his best friend. 

Images courtesy of (in order of appearance):

• Bustle
• Wikia
• thepreppybrunette
• hell-yeahfriends
• phdross
• pinterest
• rachel9kim

Lesson #5: Be Yourself

Okay I know, this sounds like one of those cheesy things your mom tells you while pinching your cheek as you're getting ready to leave for your first day of school. But you know what? As cliche as this lesson may sound, it's one that not very many people learn until later in life (if they learn it at all). Being yourself can be a really difficult thing to be, especially if who you are is seemingly different from everyone else. As a society, we are constantly trying to fit in with what we think are the social norms. However, it doesn't have to be this way, and that is where I think we could all take a page out of Phoebe's book.

Phoebe Buffay has never been one to conform to society's expectations. She may have some strange or quirky qualities, but she was never afraid to show the world who she was. One way that Phoebe was really able to express herself was through her music. If you're not familiar with any of her compositions, here is (in my humble opinion) some of her best work:

In season 2, Phoebe is "discovered" by a record company who asks her to come in to record "Smelly Cat" and make a music video. Upon viewing the final product however, the friends are slightly shocked at the way it turned out.

Once Phoebe realizes that she is not the person singing in the video and that they have hired someone else to be the "voice lady," she refuses to work with the record label or release the rights to "Smelly Cat." This shows Phoebe's integrity and the pride she takes in her work, no matter how eclectic or strange others might consider it to be.

Phoebe also isn't afraid to try new things, as evidenced in season 10 when she decided to change her name. After Phoebe marries Mike, she decides that she wants to take his last name. However, while she is filling out the form, she discovers that she can change her name to anything she wants. She decides that this is "an opportunity to be creative" and so naturally she goes with Princess Consuela Banana Hammock.

There was also the time where Rachel and Phoebe decided to start running together. Little did Rachel know, however, that when Phoebe runs, it looks like this:

Rachel is so embarrassed by the way that Phoebe runs that she tells Phoebe that she hurt her ankle and can no longer run with her. However, Phoebe eventually finds out that Rachel was lying and confronts her about it. Rachel says that she cares what the people who saw them running together thought of them, and Phoebe simply replies, "Why do you care?" She then goes on to tell Rachel that she runs this way because it's more "free" and that running the way she did when she was a kid is the only way that it's fun for her. Rachel eventually learns to embrace Phoebe's strange way of running and tells her that she was right, she doesn't mind that people are staring at her because she's doing something that she enjoys.

Overall, I think Phoebe is an excellent example of what it means to truly embrace who you are and just be yourself.

Images and videos courtesy of (in order of appearance): 

• fyeahfriendsgifs
• 2luh3
• Ipss
• ohyeahfriendsyeah
• stylewack
• corrinefelkins

Lesson #4: Get a Job You That Love, But Don't Be Afraid to Work Hard for It

Believe it or not, getting a good job that I actually like is something that I actually think a lot about right now. For one thing, that's a big reason why I'm currently attending college. I want to set the foundation for my future now because I know how important it is to love what you do.

So in my first post I briefly mentioned how Rachel went from a spoiled rich girl to a successful business woman, but clearly that job didn't just fall into her lap. She had to start from the bottom and work her way up.

Rachel entered the working world at 23 years old when she got her first job waitressing at Central Perk. Although this wasn't her dream job, she took what she could get and made the best of it. However, after working at the coffee shop for two-and-a-half years, Rachel decides to quit her job and pursue her dream career in the fashion industry. By letting go of this safety net, Rachel opens herself up to find a job that she loves and takes a position as an assistant at Fortunata Fashions. Even though this is one step closer to her dream, Rachel still finds herself doing trivial tasks like making coffee (still) and untangling hangers.

However, Rachel doesn't have to stick it out for too long, because she is soon offered a job at Bloomingdales as a buyer and personal shopper for the department store. After two years of working at this job, she is offered an even better one as an executive at Ralph Lauren. Although her interview doesn't go very well, she still manages to get the job by showing her determination and passion for the fashion industry.

Rachel's transition from waitress to successful business woman shows that hard work pays off and that in order to get the job you want, you have to be willing to put some time in. Another one of the friends who certainly knows a lot about putting time into his career is Joey.

As an actor, Joey has certainly seen many ups and downs in his career. When the series began, he took less-than-ideal roles in obscure plays, commercials, and subway advertisements for STD clinics.

Although Joey has had some low points in his career, he has also had some impressive achievements. For example, he had a recurring role as Dr. Drake Ramoray on the popular soap opera Days of Our Lives. While he loses this role on the show for claiming to write his own lines (and his character is killed off after falling down an elevator shaft), they eventual bring him back on, this time as another character who had her brain transplanted into Dr. Ramoray's body. He is later nominated for an award for Best Returning Character.

Joey has also had some other notable roles, such as Al Pacino's "butt double" and the main character on the tv show Mac and C.H.E.E.S.E., a show about a detective and his crime-solving robot. In addition to his work as an actor, Joey has often had to pick up odd-jobs, such as a Christmas elf at the mall, a cologne sampler at a department store, a Christmas tree salesman, a museum tour guide, and a waiter.

These additional jobs, rather than detracting from Joey's career as an actor, show his dedication towards his passion; he's willing to take on various odd-jobs in order to continue making a living rather that giving up acting altogether to find a more practical job.

Throughout the series, both Rachel and Joey are prime examples of what it means to work hard and achieve your dreams. They both work in fields that some may consider impractical or hard to find work in, but they manage to be successful in their careers through determination and perserverance.




Images courtesy of (in order of appearance):

• Tumblr
• personal image made using imgflip
• photobucket
• Love Lace
• Friends Wikia
• Tumblr
• Tumblr

Lesson #3: Everyone Has a Lobster

I just want to preface this post by saying that I am not, by any means, an expert in love or relationships. Being 18 years old, I'm still trying to figure things out myself and that means I'm not really in a position to give out advice. I think that in the grand scheme of love and relationships there's a lot of uncertainty, but one thing that I have absolutely no doubts about is the fact that everyone has a lobster out there.

Okay, I realize I may have lost some people already. This should clear things up.

So basically your lobster is your soulmate. I'm a firm believer that everyone has one, it's just a matter of finding them.

1. Ross and Rachel (Duh)

So if you know anything about friends, you know that the Ross and Rachel story is pretty much a central theme throughout the entirety of the series. Ross has had a crush on Rachel ever since she and Monica were friends in high school. The extent of his feelings for her is made known in the episode The One with the Prom Video, and this is where we see them officially get together.

They date for a little while until about halfway through season 3 when Rachel suggests they "take a break" and well, you know the rest. They spend the rest of the series in an on-again-off-again sort of relationship. They both date other people as well as get back together for brief periods, like to drunkenly get married in Vegas,

and to have a baby together,

before they FINALLY get back together for good in the iconic series finale, where Rachel gets off the plane.

Although Ross and Rachel's relationship was never perfect, and it took them TEN seasons to realize that they were really meant to be, they found each other in the end, and that's what having a lobster is all about.

2. Chandler and Monica

Chandler and Monica were a couple that no one saw coming but made complete sense once they got together. They had both been in serious, long-term relationships before discovering that their lobster was right under their nose. What started out as a drunken hookup in London during the weekend of Ross' (second) wedding bloomed into a beautiful relationship that I would appropriately describe as #goals.

Although Chandler and Monica had known each other for years (Chandler was Ross' roommate in college), they didn't get together until the end of season 4. While you might be thinking that seems like a questionable amount of time for two people to realize that their soulmates, I think that part of the reason that Chandler and Monica worked so well together is because they had such a solid foundation together as friends.

3. Phoebe and Mike

Phoebe is the only friend we see to look outside the group for true love. She meets Mike on a blind date that Joey sets her up on, and the rest is history. Although they don't meet until season 9, they instantly click with each other; Mike turns out to be just as quirky and odd as Phoebe, just maybe in a more muted sort of way.

Phoebe and Mike date for about the course of a year until they get married in the last season and have the most beautiful, spontaneous wedding where they've written their own vows, which pretty much sum up their relationship perfectly.

Lesson #2: Plan Ahead (Things We Can All Learn From Ross)

So this week has pretty much been the week from hell. At least for me anyway. I've had two tests, three papers due, online assignments, and then, on top of all that, the regular amount of homework/studying I would have on any given week. Needless to say, things have been a little hectic the past few days, and I know that a lot of other people are in similar situations. So now, here I am, trying to finish up a blog post at 12:00 am, wondering how I got here. And while I keep trying to tell myself that it's because I had more work this week than I could possibly get done in a timely manner, I know deep down that I probably could have planned ahead a little bit better.

So why am I choosing to focus on Ross for this life lesson? Well, probably because Ross is the literal embodiment of what can happen to you when you fail to plan ahead. From ripped couches to bad fake tans, Ross has seen it all and still manages to keep going.

1. The One with the Cop

This is hands-down the best example I can think of to illustrate this point, and probably one of the most iconic moment in the show's history. Yup, you guessed it, I'm talking about the "PIVOT" scene.

In this episode, Ross buys a new couch for his apartment. In true Ross-fashion, however, he decides that the cost of having it delivered is too expensive and that he could simply do it himself. After enlisting the help of Rachel and Chandler, the friends realize that the couch is too big to fit up the stairs, and they find themselves at a stand-still. The episode ends with Ross attempting to return the couch, now split in half, to the furniture store from which he bought it. He is offered $4 in store credit and happily accepts.

2. The One with All the Resolutions
Another golden Ross moment. This episode starts out at a New Year's Eve party at Monica's apartment. After the party ends, Ross suggests that they all make New Year's resolutions; for his resolution, he decides to try to do one thing every day that he has never done before. For one of his "new things" Ross buys a pair of leather pants which he then wears on a date. However, the pants prove to be pretty uncomfortably hot, so he goes to the bathroom to take them off and cool down. Then, well, this happens.

3. The One with Ross's Tan

After becoming jealous of Monica's spray tan, Ross decides to go and get one himself. He goes in to the tanning booth not fully understanding the process, and ends up becoming an "eight." He then attempts to get it evened out at another tanning salon but decides that he doesn't need to hear the instructions again, and ultimately makes things worse for himself.

Although these are just three examples out of many of Ross's failure to plan ahead, I think we can learn a lot here. It's important to keep the consequences of your actions in mind when you're making a decision, and make sure you know exactly what you're getting into before you do. But just know that even if you make a mistake, your friends will always be there for you to pick you back up (but maybe not before making fun of you just a little bit).

Lesson #1: Your Past Doesn't Determine Your Future

As a freshman, one of the things I found most appealing about college was the whole "blank slate" thing. Here, at a large university, no one really cares who you were in high school or who you hung out with or what you did. But the truth is, you don't have to wait for some major event to come along and give you a fresh start. Sometimes it helps, but ultimately your life is not pre-written; you can choose when to close one chapter and start a new one. Because if I've learned one thing from my many years of being a Friends enthusiast, it's that you can always start over. Your past doesn't determine your future.

I'm sure we all remember the iconic pilot episode of Friends (appropriately titled "The Pilot"). If you're a little rusty on your Friends trivia, let me lay it out for you. Monica, Phoebe, Ross, Joey, and Chandler are hanging out at a coffee shop, reflecting on Ross's impending divorce, when in walks Rachel, an old high school friend of Monica's, who's just left her fiancé at the altar.

In the following scene that foreshadows much of Rachel's character development throughout the series, Rachel stands in the kitchen of Monica's apartment and talks to her father on the phone. Her father is angry with her and wants her to return to the wedding, but Rachel tries to make him understand why she can't.

With this somewhat confusing metaphor, Rachel tells her father that she doesn't want the life that everyone else has chosen for her; she wants to decide for herself. In response her father cuts her off, and so begins this spoiled rich-girl's journey from daddy's little princess to a successful, independent woman.

Having previously relied on her parents for financial support for all her life with her only goal to marry rich, Rachel finds herself faced with the difficult task of having to reinvent herself. Monica welcomes her into her home, allowing Rachel to stay with her while she attempts to reorganize her life. Rachel manages to find a job at the Central Perk coffee shop and begins to learn the valuable lesson of supporting herself as an adult.

In this episode, Rachel is a prime example that your future isn't set in stone; you can choose your own path, regardless of the one you're already on. In the span of one episode, Rachel goes from someone who has always had everything handed to her on a silver platter, to someone who really has to work for what she has. But in the words of Monica, "this is probably for the best, you know? Independence, taking control of your life". Rachel is finally free to decide things for herself, regardless of what things have been like for her in the past. Walking away from her privileged life was probably the hardest things Rachel had ever had to do, but she did it. She chose to become a new person and carve out her own niche in the world.