While, “It’s nice to live on an island with no large cities,” according to Lilo, we can’t all have that luxury. As the singing and pounding of drums in Hawaiian fashion hum in the background, Lilo and Stitch and their shenanigans share with us life lessons meant to last forever.
It’s okay to be a little weird or different.
We weren’t made to fit in, biologically, physically, emotionally, we’re all meant to be different. In a world where we are all the same, life would get boring quickly. Whether your interests include dancing, writing, sports, etc. follow them! Many people are afraid of following their passion because college is stereotyped as either the time to focus only on studies, or a time where everything lets loose–a happy medium is best for all.
Find the balance between being passionate about your interests and focusing on work as best as you can. In fact, in Lilo and Stitch, we see Pleakley wasting so much precious time and energy into becoming something and someone he could never be–wearing different clothes, speaking differently, etc. We forget that we are the best version of ourselves when we learn to actually be ourselves.
It’s better to have one good friend rather than a hundred acquaintances.
Lilo and Stitch prove to us that we all have that one friend that is always by our side through the ups and the downs. Granted, our best friend could be our dog like many of us, Monmouth offers the perfect environment to find your best friend. Getting involved in a program or club, or even diving further into your major, could lead to finding your best friend in the mix of it all. As David says, “I may not be a doctor, but I know there’s no better cure for a sour face than a couple of boards and some choice waves.” Make sure to keep a friend who is always keeping your best interest at heart.
Love everyone for what is on the inside, don’t judge people based on appearances.
As a society, we are being judged and constantly judge others, it is a natural occurrence and as much as we would like to stop it, we simply cannot. What we can do, instead, is try to dig deeper. Meeting new people can be incredibly difficult, let alone meeting people in college. We should all act a little like Lilo-picking out people (or dogs) that could be our best friends even without knowing a single thing about them. As aforementioned, Monmouth holds an abundance of services, programs, and organizations to find your fit and to find your niche–join a group that you never thought you’d join and I can bet that you’ll end up falling in head over heels.
If all else fails, family is always there for you in the end.
Being away from home, or even just getting accustomed to a new culture or way of life at college, is challenging to say the least. Everyone feels and goes through the same homesickness at college, even commuters to some degree. It is vital to understand and remember that family will continue to be right behind you to catch you if you fall. Also, to go hand in hand with that thought, all families go through difficulties and fights, and at times, it may seem like there are only downfalls, but, don’t forget, your family is the one thing in life that will never leave. Stitch says, “this is my family. I found it all on my own. It’s little and broken, but still good. Yeah, still good.”
Similar to the motto, “All Hawks fly together,” Lilo says: “‘ohana’ means family, and family means nobody gets left behind, or forgotten.”
IMAGE TAKEN from http://lwlies.com/articles/when-marnie-was-there-lilo-and-stitch/
