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SPOILER ALERT: This April, Netflix released the first season of their original series “GirlBoss”, based on the half memoir-half guidebook of the same name by Sophia Amoruso, founder of Nasty Gal. The show kicks off in 2006 San Francisco and certainly makes you nostalgic for the Britney Spears infatuation, MySpace, the O.C. Marissa death scene, iBook Clamshell and the Motorola Razr, but it still resonates with a modern viewer.
Each episode begins with a disclaimer that it is a "real loose" interpretation of real events. Many will have you think that Sophia, played by Britt Robertson, is your typical self-centered millennial and rather unlovable protagonist. However, she is actually relatable and authentically flawed.
Sophia is a complex character in this modern coming-of-age, binge-watching worthy series that provides us with some motivating life lessons we could all use. Below are the five lessons anyone can learn from GirlBoss.
Lesson 1: “I need to figure out a way to grow up without being a boring adult."
Don’t conform to society’s ways. Like Sophia says “conformity is prison.” Sophia, like many millennials, think adulthood crushes dreams, but it doesn’t have to. Everyone struggles with finding who they are and their place in the world. You don’t have to be put into a neat and tidy box. It is okay to pave your own path and it is perfectly okay to not know what you want to do. Even if you don’t have it all together an epiphany will strike, just like it did with Sophia and you’ll figure it out. Sometimes life just sucks.
Lesson 2: “You’re fireworks, you’re pop rocks, you’re birthday cake everyday!”
“When you sell stuff, you are asking people to buy into you. It’s a lifestyle, not a business. It’s like flipping houses, but instead I flip clothes.” There are always going to be people who will put down your dreams and ideas, like Sophia’s Dad, Jay (Dean Norris) or the shop owner Mobias (Jim Rash), but never let anyone make you feel like you don't deserve what you want. Sometimes you have to keep your business to yourself and achieve success before telling anyone or at least until "...you can buy everything Barbie has."
Lesson 3: “You’re a success regardless of if you sell a single item.”
Sophia battles with self-doubt all through the series. She is told by countless people that she doesn't have what it takes to succeed, and even begins to harbor self-doubt in the event that they are correct. After being told she has no business sense, she goes to Barnes & Noble and steals a "How to Start an Ebay Business for Dummies" book. You define your own success. Success is not just measured by numbers, but by the lasting impression you leave on people.
Lesson 4: “Men. You have to work twice as hard. They know it, we know it and they know we know it.”
GirlBoss is the epitome of a feminist anti-heroine story. It’s about a woman who goes from rags to riches with nothing but an eviction notice and a vintage East West jacket to inspire her. At its core, it is a story that is against the system and against all of the men in her life that are standing in her way of success. They are the ones who cause her self-doubt and make her feel like she is set up to fail. However, she pushed through with a careless attitude to make it seem as though none of it mattered and she came out on top.
Lesson 5: “Love you in case I die”
Sophia can be quite self-centered, but she has a way of making a connection with people, even the most mundane people, like the park bench lady. She learned a lesson from each person she encountered. Without the people in her life, from Annie and Lionel to Nathan and his mom to Dax, Shane, Rick and even Gail, Sophia would not have made it to the top. After treating Annie poorly, Sophia realizes she is the only one who really believed in her and had her back. Friendship had to take priority over her business. What is life without people to share it with?
The timing of the series seems unusual, as Amoruso peaked after the release of her book in 2014 and Nasty Gal, now owned by the Boohoo Group, filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy last November. However, the lessons you can learn are timeless especially in a new era of feminism.
Photos via Netflix
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