8 Real Life Lessons We Learned from Pretty Little Liars

Life in Rosewood as we know it has officially ended. PLL fans, you know the bittersweet feelings we all have today! The show ended last night and if you're a fan but haven't watched yet, there may be some spoilers in here! ;) Fair warning! I know it was time for it to end, but I've been watching since it started when my summer vacation was just beginning, and I was finishing my sophomore year in high school. I remember the day of the premiere like it was yesterday and the craziness of the past seven seasons has officially ended. I do have to say, I'm VERY happy with how the show ended! I cried, I laughed and my jaw dropped multiple times in typical Pretty Little Liars fashion.
This show has been more than just a television show over the past seven years. It's been something I've bonded with my sister over, and have talked endlessly about with my best friend. It's a mystery that's made me question if maybe I was A! LOL. --As unreal as being locked in a life-sized doll house, being buried alive, or being cyber-stalked by mysterious figures in black hoodies and gloves may be, it's ALL happened to Spencer, Aria, Hanna, Emily, Alison and even Mona and the PLL guy squad. You name it, they've been through it all! It may sound silly at first, but there really are so many lessons to be learned from this show. Before you think, "this show is totally unrealistic, this would never happen!", bear with me and you'll realize all of the important life lessons Marlene King fit into 160, one hour episodes. As the show and legacy of PLL ends, we're left with lots of answers (even how the moms were stuck in the basement - thank goodness!!) and more importantly, tons of quotes that are just SO relatable to celebrate this series forever and ever.

1. Your best friends play important roles in your life and will be there for you no matter what.

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Whether you have one best friend or a small group like the PLLs did, knowing that you have a shoulder to lean on is invaluable. A, Uber A and A.D. (after seeing the series finale, is there really a difference?) put the liars through the ringer - quite literally - and no matter how many times they were pinned against each other, at the end of the day they always stuck together. They've buried fake doctors together, played a virtual reality puzzle to keep their freedom together and found their way out of a psycho's dollhouse in (almost) one piece together. Friends stick together, even when there's a dead body in your trunk.

2. Second chances are important; it's the only way to learn from your mistakes.

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PLL most recently showed this on the second to last episode, when Ezra convinced the gang to give Aria a second chance after A.D. blackmailed her. The liars and their friends and family gave each other second chances all across the board and it proved to be worth it every time. Moral of the story? We all make mistakes in this game of life, but with every mistake comes a lesson learned. It isn't always easy to forgive, but no one is perfect.

3. High school often makes you steer away from your core values; being "popular" isn't worth that.

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Remember in the very first season, when Mona egged Hanna on to shoplift expensive items from the mall? Hanna's body language had "I don't want to do this!" written all over it, but Mona was popular and Hanna wanted to fit in. It only bit Hanna in the butt, but it also made her realize that she didn't need to be considered popular to go on with her life. Doing anything - no matter how harmful to yourself or others - just to fit in with the "popular crowd" isn't worth it. Our teenage years are our most vulnerable, so it's no surprise that things are constantly changing. The liars' clique learned the hard way that trying to climb the never ending ladder of "popularity" would get them no where (and that history repeats itself... Ohhh Addison, if only you learned sooner! ;).

4. Everyone has a past, some dirtier than others.

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Not one person in this world is 100% perfect. You don't need me to tell you that, but that's DEFINITELY something that Pretty Little Liars has taught us. Every one of the girls - and nearly everyone in Rosewood - has a past or something that happened to them that they weren't proud of. I mean, look at Spencer's dad; married to Mrs. Hastings, had an affair with Jessica DiLaurentis AND Mary Drake, and kept it from his whole family. The same with Aria's dad, Ezra, Hanna - I could list cast members with such a dilemma all day! If anything gets you through dealing with your past, it's remembering that everyone else does, too. The past is the past for a reason - always remember that.

5. Step out of your comfort zone and take a chance.

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Season 6B of PLL started with a bang with the 5 Years Forward time jump that took place. The first episode of 6B caught us up with what each liar went off and did after graduating high school. Hanna moved to New York to work for a high-end fashion designer, Aria moved to Boston to pursue her love of writing... And maybe the most surprising of them all, Alison became a high school teacher in the very high school that she walked the halls with her head held high (you know, before she went missing and all that jazz...). Rosewood, P.A. is the town that Aria, Hanna, Emily, Alison and Spencer all lived in their entire lives. After the ordeals they'd gone through during their high school years, they all needed that fresh start. It was extremely hard for them to move away from each other, but they not only found their way back to each other - thanks to Charlotte being released from the mental institution - they found their true selves, grew up a LOT and their lives changed for the better because of it. Change sucks and it isn't easy, but sometimes it's exactly what you need at any given point of your life.

6. Overcoming your fears can help you achieve anything.

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It's no secret that these girls have been through a LOT; deaths, family and relationship splits, haunting texts from a psychopath, getting kidnapped.. (you know, the usual ;) But their fears and the ridiculously awful things they endured for seven looong seasons always made them stronger. After every misfortune the girls went through, they came out of it closer together, less afraid to face the monster and determined to find out 1. who 'A' was and 2. ensure their safety. Now, Mona has a niiice hold on A.D. and the girls really can live happily!

7. Celebrate being your own, unique self.

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In season 1, Toby was the guy that people were scared of. Emily feared breaking out of her shell. Mona was her own person (to say the least); eccentric and totally out there. All three of them were always themselves and didn't let anyone change that, and they truly had to rely on themselves. The comparison game is a tough one, but always sticking to who you are and what makes you different and stand out from the rest should make you proud.

8. Good things may not always last forever, but memories do.

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PLL has been what so many of us have looked forward to watching every Tuesday night. It's been a mystery that we've gotten to bond with other fans over social media about and it's been seven years of it! At the end of the finale when Aria was leaving for her honeymoon (ohh the waterworks!), the girls were reflecting on the fact that they all were happy at once. This wasn't something that happened over the past seven years, so they joked about not wanting to jinx it. While even the best things may not last forever, the memories we have will always be there. The memory of a show that so many of us have grown up loving, the memories the liars' have being able to overcome being tortured by Alex Drake (can we all agree that Troian's English accent is SO GOOD?!) and their friendship that'll last a lifetime. Rosewood will always hold memories for those girls, as will the series for us fans. Life is filled with ups and downs, but memories are a treasure!

Pretty Little Liars may have ended, but I know I can't be the only one that is already itching to watch the entire series back and continuously ask myself, "HOW did I miss that?!" It's been more than a television show for so long, for so many of us and although it's ended, we still have Netflix to binge it all over again on! ;) I thought Marlene King (long time PLL writer/producer) did an absolutely incredible job with how she crafted the finale. Every bit of it was perfect in my eyes; I especially loved her wedding photographer cameo, HYSTERICAL!
When the girls were leaving for college before the 5 year fast forward, Spencer quoted Winnie the Pooh; "I'm pretty lucky to have had something that makes saying goodbye so hard". That quote sums up this show - 'A' had me second guessing myself for YEARS, and I'm not going to lie, it was hard to say goodbye to PLL last night. I can't wait to re-watch the entire series! We really have been able to take away a lot from this show, which says a lot about its writers and the awesome cast. Most of the show may have been totally unrealistic, but that was the fun of it. And what was realistic helped us learn a lot. I think most of the fans will re-watch in due time, so really, the show we've all loved for so long will last forever.    After all, that's immortality, my darlings.

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XOXO -A (so fitting^ ;)