Lessons I Learned From Hairspray

I found myself awake at 2 a.m. today thinking about Hairspray.

No, not the one you use in your hair, but a movie that includes it. It came out in 2007 and features artists and actors/actresses like Queen Latifah, Elijah Kelly, Amanda Bynes, Nikki Blonsky, Michelle Pfeiffer, John Travolta, Christopher Walken, and many others.

I know what you’re thinking…. WHY??? But before I indulge you with a response on why this movie lives rent-free in my head, I’d like to check in:

How are you today? How was your week? What is one thing that you’ve done to put yourself first in the past few days? Is it to your satisfaction or can you do something more today, or this weekend?

Hairspray: The Movie

For anyone who is not familiar with the movie Hairspray, the storyline follows the antagonist, a plus-sized teen named Tracy Turnblad, and the adventures that come with loving to dance in the 1960s. It tackles some of the personal issues that came with being different in size and color at that time. I would even take it a step further to say that some of these issues are still apparent today, especially when it comes to racism and sizeism, or the stigmas that come with being a plus-sized individual. It’s considered a romantic comedy but if you ever get the chance, I recommend watching it. There are some meaningful lessons in it and I’d love to share some that were on my mind earlier today.

Hairspray: The Lessons

While these are not in any specific order, I hope you can grab the messages that pull to you intuitively and can apply them to your life as soon as today. Let them be your new truths and watch how everything changes.

When you’re meant to do something, people and circumstances will try to stop you but they won’t succeed
You will be challenged, but you can make it if you persevere
Giving up will get you nowhere
“Yesterday is history, and it’s never coming back”
“Tomorrow is a brand new day…”
Your past is a lesson of the highest order, but many of us allow it to be a barrier
Anything you want to do, you can
You have the power to turn anything you experience into something that works for you
A setback is an opportunity to propel forward
Anything you want and hope to accomplish, can be done
You are worthy of all you desire, even when the world tries to tell you to know
It’s not your job to fit any standards
What is for you will conform to you and your standards
Nos will only lead you to your YES
You are extravagant. You are powerful. You are effortlessly you.
You don’t need to fit anyone’s reality or expectations but your own
Take every feasible opportunity
You are about to thrive like never before
You can shake up anything that doesn’t serve you
You can live a different life, if you believe and go for it
You are not stuck
We’re gonna be okay