Growing up, I wasn’t a big SpongeBob fan, but then, one Sunday morning, I was trying to find something to watch on TV and ended up watching a SpongeBob SquarePants episode. It was the one were Patrick Star teaches SpongeBob’s cousin Stanley the subtle art of doing nothing. Patrick explains that the key is to clear your mind and to do nothing. As simple as that. I took it as a sign of what I should do on that beautiful and lazy Sunday morning: nothing.
From that moment on, I realized I related a lot to SpongeBob SquarePants. I understood that what seems to be an innocent, animated cartoon series actually shows the struggles of adulting, and here are a few examples.
When you go on vacation, but you keep thinking about your job.
We’ve all been SpongeBob on the last day before going on vacation somewhere, singing “I’m ready, vacation, I’m ready, vacation!” However, no matter how exciting your trip is or how tired you are from working all year long, as soon as your vacation starts, you start wondering whether things will run smoothly without you at the office, and that’s how you end up checking your emails and even texting your work buddies to see how everything’s going. Doesn’t sound that relaxing, to be honest…
When you have to clean the whole house all by yourself.
Whether you live with roommates or you’re lucky enough to live on your own, you have to do household chores pretty frequently to keep the place looking and feeling like someone lives there. It’s not always easy, though, especially when you don’t know how to do certain things (like iron a shirt properly), or when you realize that there are some things you never knew needed to be cleaned, like the fridge or the curtains.
When you have so many things on your plate (with work, family, friends, “me” time, etc.) that the weekend rolls around, but all you want to do is stay in bed.
Yep, Patrick is my spirit animal. Sometimes my week is so full of things, that when Saturday finally gets there, I just don’t want to do anything. At most, I’ll get up to open the door for the food delivery guy.
When you wake up hungry at 3 in the morning.
Who wants a Krabby Patty at 3 am? Well, it’s definitely not just Patrick. We all get those cravings in the middle of the night sometimes where we just want a little snack. Or a big, juicy burger. Or an entire pizza. Or maybe some tacos. Whatever satisfies our hunger.
When your longest, most stable relationship is... with your pet.
There comes a time when the most loyal, caring, and loving being in your life is actually your pet, just like SpongeBob and his pet snail Gary. Remember that episode where Gary gets lost? Well, I think I would be in the same situation as SpongeBob if my dog got lost.
When you meet your high school friends years later and one of them is really successful.
We all have that one friend who has done many things in life, who is always showing off, and throwing shade at anyone who hasn’t done that much with their life. But who says what success is, really? Maybe I’m comfortable just living life and doing my thing without worrying about recognition.
When you find out you are absolutely awesome just the way you are.
Once again, Patrick is a great example of how to be confident and show it to the world. And yes, that only happens when you discover that you are the most awesome creature in the world.
In their 20 years of being some of the most popular characters on television, SpongeBob and his friends are definitely great role models. If you remember other relatable episodes, let us know in the comments!
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