Lesson #19: Stay Young at Heart

As we're getting older, we're also expected to start becoming more mature and grown-up. While I think it is important to start accepting the responsibilities in your life, I also think that it is just as important to remember to have fun. Staying young at heart is one of the best ways to achieve this; I believe that by choosing to do so, you keep a more positive outlook on life.

Many of the characters of Friends have also chosen to stay young at heart despite growing older. Here are some of my favorite examples of that:

1. The One With Rachel's Going Away Party

As Rachel is preparing to move to Paris for her job, Monica and Chandler are preparing to move out of the apartment and into their new home. Monica sends Ross to help Joey and Chandler pack up the guest bedroom where, upon entering, he finds the two of them having some fun with bubble wrap.

Monica walks in on them and demands to know what's going on, so Chandler tells her that they're taking a break. When she asks what exactly they are taking a break from, Chandler replies with "jumping on the bed."

2. The One Where Ross Moves In

When Ross loses the lease on his apartment, Joey and Chandler allow him to move in with them until he can find a new place. When he moves in, however, he brings all of his belongings with him in boxes, of which Joey promptly builds a fort. Later on in the episode, Chandler comes home to find Joey and Ross inside the fort, playing Cowboys and Indians.

3. The One With the Dollhouse

When Monica and Ross's Aunt Sylvia passes away, Monica inherits her dollhouse that she always wanted to play with as a child. Phoebe mentions to the gang that she never had a dollhouse to play with when she was a kid and so Monica tells her that she can play with hers. However, Monica quickly regrets this after deciding that she doesn't like the way that Phoebe plays with the dollhouse.

Phoebe, after realizing that she is "not welcome in the house of no imagination," decides to make her own dollhouse, equipped with a slide instead of stairs, a licorice room (where "you can eat all the furniture"), and an aroma room containing incense. Unfortunately, there is a fire which, according to Ross originated in the aroma room, and Phoebe's dollhouse burns down. Even worse yet, not everybody makes it out.

As you can see here, growing up doesn't mean that you have to stop being a kid. You can have just as much fun (if not more!) as an adult.

Media Courtesy of (in order of appearance):

• NBC via Netflix (gifs made using Giphy)
• grainnenewsie