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