4 Life Lessons I've Taken Away From The Bold Type
From the moment I started watching Freeform's The Bold Type, I knew that it would forever be one of my all-time favorite shows. The show, based in the hustle and bustle of New York City, centers around three, young 20-something-year-old women, Jane Sloan (Katie Stevens), Sutton Brady (Meghann Fahy) and Kat Edison (Aisha Dee), working together at Scarlet, a fashion magazine. Not only is their professional, yet chic, fashion style incredible, but The Bold Type is such an accurate depiction of the struggles and joys that many millennials find themselves going through — myself included. The parallels between my own experience and the show's plots have had me uncontrollably laughing at my own life as well as crying in a puddle of tears. Here are just a few things I have learned!
Never give up on the things that set your soul on fire.
While Kat and Jane are also both great examples of following their dreams, Sutton's career path really stands out. She starts out as a temporary fill-in, then pitches the creation of an assistant position, decides she actually wants to work in fashion, works as an assistant again, and is FINALLY promoted to "Sutton Brady-Hunter, Stylist" at Scarlet Magazine. Oh, and let's not forget that she could have taken a job in the marketing department earlier on for a much higher salary. In the end though, she ultimately chose her passions rather than money.
As a college student, I am often faced with this same dilemma. Do I go for the jobs that make more money to start out and then gradually try to transition into the field I want to be in? Do I start in the field I want to be in, knowing full well that it might just be impossible to get a high-paying job? These are all questions that I have on the regular.
Thank you yet again, The Bold Type, for accurately portraying modern-day struggles.
As long as you have one or two true friends in life, you’ll be OK.
Jane, Sutton, and Kat are a force to be reckoned with. As long as each of them have the other two by their side, they have the confidence to take on the world. They know that they'll always have a friend with whom to sit and laugh in a bathtub, scream at a moving subway, and to help them stalk their un-stalkable ex. They know that they'll always have a friend through all the hardships that life has to offer, including getting a preventative mastectomy or surviving a miscarriage. They know that through every laugh, cry, smile, ache, and pain, they have someone who has their back.
I am lucky enough to have my own Sutton and Kat (I am definitely a Jane!) who I know I can always count on. While I might not have screamed at a subway with them or sat in a bathtub with them, I have had my fair share of crying and laughing sessions with my besties. And I am forever grateful. You know who you are.
Know your worth, in your career as well as your relationships.
One of the most incredible scenes, for me personally, shows my favorite, tiny, stiletto-wearing Jane making a decision that aligns with her and her beliefs. With her hair blowing perfectly in the wind, she tells her then-fling, Pinstripe, "I can't do the multiple guys thing. I don't want to. I can only do one."
He tries to tell her that he's willing to talk about things, but she confidently replies, "There's nothing to talk about. I don't want to change you, but I don't want to change either."
Instead of forcing herself into the world of non-exclusive relationships, she knows what she wants, and she isn't willing to settle for anything less than that. She smiles and willingly walks away like the powerful woman that she is. Go tiny Jane!
You can meet new, best friends in the most unexpected of places.
While I already have some of my forever-friends and future bridesmaids, I have no doubt that there are more out there that I have yet to meet. After watching The Bold Type, I now have faith that even in the most unexpected places and times, you can meet people who will change your life.
Thanks to that flashback episode, we know that Kat, Jane, and Sutton came together for the very first time in a fashion closet. From that day on, their lives were never the same. It was Jane's first day as an intern. It was (almost) Sutton's last day, considering her temp job was ending. And it was just a normal day for Kat. Yet, destiny led Sutton to that fashion closet to try on that pink sequined dress, Jane to cry over a failed coffee mishap, and Kat to see Jane and take her to the fashion closet. None of them expected to meet their ride-or-die friends that day, and yet they did.