Did Friendship is Magic teach you any life lessons?

[NeverAgain653289he32 285]

Hello there, Friendship is Magic taught me to be myself and not care what other people think about me and how many friends I have. Since I became a Brony and not cared I have gained a lot of friends and became well known for my comedy (I don't care about "popularity"). So I was wondering if the show taught you guys any lessons that you may or may not still use?      /)

Edited September 16, 2013 by Flipturn
Tagging

[Leatherbehlt 465]

The show has taught me some things, but I think it's more of something that when I'm angry/stressed out, I think about it and the biggest smile ever comes on my face. i think I've learned more from bronies about having a calm heart and not judging others than from the show.

[Shanks 10,816]

It taught me that what society consider as "for girls" or "for boys" is largely subjective and fraught with double standards and that just because something is slightly dosen't always mean that it can't appeal to anyone other than little girls. Other than that it has simply given me the occasional reminder of lesson I have learned as a child and has helped a little bit with my depression.

[Plentyy 26]

Yes it has. It has taught me that friendship is somthing wonderful. As someone who doesnt have many friends in real life, this show truly makes me happy and it deifnately motivated me to become more social, and more open to other humans. I gained two friends from all this, because i found out they're also bronies. I am unbelievably thankful to MLP for brightening my dark days and supporting me when im alone sometimes.

 

 

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[Harmonic Revelations 8,835]

I learned from the show that you can't blame all your problems on other people and your life should be an active learning experience. From the community of the show I've learned that not all people are bad and that there are really nice people out there. 

 

Also I forgot to mention that the show got me interested in sowing but that's not really a life lesson now is it?

 

 

Yes it has. It has taught me that friendship is somthing wonderful. As someone who doesnt have many friends in real life, this show truly makes me happy and it deifnately motivated me to become more social, and more open to other humans. I gained two friends from all this, because i found out they're also bronies. I am unbelievably thankful to MLP for brightening my dark days and supporting me when im alone sometimes.

 

 

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That is a truly beautiful thing that this show helped you so much. I have a feeling that this thread is going to have the monopoly on touching stories.

Edited January 15, 2013 by Harmonic Revelations

[Rainbow Dash 1,472]

HAHAHA yes. i learned more about friendship than i did in kindergarden.(mostly because i was the embodiment of the devil,or so says my principal)

I learned as long as you have friends you dont have to care what people think of you and having friends means not doing things alone. i also learned that your friends will accept you no matter who you might be.

I know this might seem childish or ridiculous that i just learned/using these now but i didnt have a social life growing up. I was going through some stuff so you know.

[Jessper 735]

Funny thing, I don't think the show gave me any lesson.

 

But one thing it taught (or gave me the chance) me is to relax. No matter how horrible the day was, no matter how much stress is around, no matter what shitstorm is incoming, I know I can just watch a few MLP episodes and get a shot of relaxation and happiness that will last for many hours.

Edited January 15, 2013 by Jessper

[Ember Gleam 167]

Actualy MLP FIM has been sort of a corner stone for me as far as me reforming my view of people and society in general. As I have mentioned in previous posts I was in the U.S Army and I fought in Iraq as well as Afghanistan. Needles to say after experiencing the darker side humanity (war, oppression,ect) I came back to the states with a very, very negative view on humanity in general. In fact I had pretty much lost all hope in the human race, and constantly questioned weather or not this world was even worth existing in. Then something utterly amazing and unexpected happened, I found peace and solace in  the most unlikely thing ever, MLP. I started watching season 1 and was instantly hooked on the show and more so the Brony community. Slowly but surely my views on society changed for the brighter. Now instead of focusing on the dark side of humanity, I have come to realise that there is much good in people. Thank you Brony community, you really did change my life for the better!

Edited January 16, 2013 by Ember Gleam

[Scootalove 10,689]

This show has taught me that, no matter what life throws at you a show can help you relax.

Even if your day is bad, this show teaches you how to enjoy life.

[Bruno © 125]

Well, it teached me to bemore generous and be ( a bit) less individual, and i think of some other things that i may not know, but these are the ones that i know.

[Zygen 6,066]

I don't know if the show really taught me much, I mean its a good thing that I can relax with that doesn't seem to fail to make me smile when I need it, but other then that the show directly hasn't really taught me any lessons that I can think of. It kinda reinforced my thoughts about how gender sterotypes are dumb, but I already kinda knew that.

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,824]

It taught me that having an open mind can lead to endless discoveries. Accepting people as they is just what bronyism is all about. 

 

It also taught me some things I may have missed when I was a child. 

[Syrchalis 40]

The show directly didn't as the most lessons are for the actual target audience (little girls) and not for adult people. Mostly I already see what the lesson is supposed to be before the end of the episode, often even at the start ... sadly that spoils the entire episode for me not too rarely.

 

Aside from that dealing with the community has teached me a few things though. I don't want to go into detail there but it were rather sad realisations.

[SrFrog 927]

Can't honestly said it has, but good for anyone that actually learned something from it. Screw the fact that it's an animated show aimed at little children, if you can learn something from it, than that's great.

 

There's just not that many series out there that could say the same, so just another plus for the show.

[SparklingTwilight 109]

Can't say that it has impacted my life in a big way but it certainly did teach me a few things... For starters, I've been a lot more confident since I became a brony and have been a whole lot happier. It's inspired me to get back into writing, this time fimfiction, which has been great. But, I find it more as something to relax me. or cheer me up on a bad day 

[Stellafera 3,836]

It encouraged me on my path to seek out friends. I was actually inspired by a post on another forum, but the series didn't hurt.

 

Twilight's episodes made me realize that it's OK to go with the flow and not worry about everything so much.

[MeowLord Noraasha 135]

Yeah I must say that FiM has taught me quite much. I must also say that many lessons from MLP people already know but still don't benefit from that or enable them in their lives... kinda sad. If everyone would follow the show we would have as happy and well prospering community as ponies. There wouldn't be any haters politicians and other EVIL stuff

1) It gave me some more clues how to be happy and is inspiring a smile on my face everyday

2) It taught me how to be kind, polite and selfless ( more than I was)

3) It taught me that friendship is more wonderful, powerful and needed than I thought.

4) It taught me that there is still something as wonderful, powerful and pure as love, and I'm sure of it's existence. I haven't seen it yet in our world. (Before that I hated love cause I knew it only from my own experience and soap operas and everyday life - and it isn't the true love )

5) It directed me to people that are all exceptions. I didn't like humanity and now I started to see many wonderful exceptions. Still the whole of human kind is just awful.

6) It gave me more faith for the better tomorrow and basically the motivation to make one for myself and other good people. I've seen in pony community what we could've been if we would take the right path. Bronies are the good start to repair the society.

EDIT: 7) Way more open-minded and tolerating

Edited January 16, 2013 by ShadowSong

[SCS 7,537]

The show has had a huge impact on my life, and to explain that more effectively I am providing relevant details from my personal life in this post. Some of the topics I discuss in this post are inappropriate for younger children, so if you are a younger child (under 14) or would be offended by such things, please discontinue reading this. I have double checked the rules to make sure that nothing in this post breaks the rules.

 

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic has helped me to completely change the way I look at the world, and continues to help me to this day to overcome problems in my life, or even just to cheer me up when I'm feeling sad.

 

I think I started watching My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic in 2011, towards the end of the summer vacation before 9th grade. I was 14 years old. I remember one of my friends from the internet convinced me to watch it one day. At first, I thought the show would be "girly" and "stupid," but for reasons that I do not understand in terms of the frame of mind I had back then, I gave the show a chance. I remember I was very interested in the show by the time I finished season 1 episode 1, and absolutely hooked by the time I finished season 1 episode 2. 

 

Before I knew it, I would spend hours watching through the episodes. I absolutely loved them. You see, I had begun to learn more about the world at the age of 14. I have very loving and kind parents - I am so thankful for them, because they are the ones who taught me how to be kind to others. They sheltered me a lot until I was around 13, which I didn't like very much at the time, but in retrospect their sheltering had allowed me to live in a time of peace, a world of innocence, I was able to have a childhood. It wasn't until I was older that I realized how blessed I was to have the opportunity to have a childhood. In fact, as I grew older I began to realize how blessed I was to have things I had always taken for granted: a house, a loving family, good friends, a largely good/peaceful school experience throughout my life, and more. 

 

I turned 13 years old on December 8th, 2009. Soon after this, my dad began to shelter me less. He allowed me to watch some R rated movies (not most of them, though), which introduced me to the concepts of hatred and violence that I had never really been fully aware of before. Eventually, I gained a stronger interest in the world outside the spectrum of my life experience, which led to me watching the news. My parents didn't let me watch the news when I was a young child - I don't think they started letting me watch it by myself until I was around 14 years old, maybe 13, I don't remember. 

 

When I turned 14, my dad continued to shelter me less. I was able to watch more R rated movies, but there were still a few particular movies he would not allow me to watch. By this time I had also had more experience with the internet, including the fact that I learned that there are horrible and evil things readily accessible. I used to look at violent things on the internet just for shock value, to make myself feel grown up, and as the result of a misguided curiosity. I had also discovered pornographic materials on the internet at the age of 12, which I got into more at the age of 13. I never intentionally viewed any child pornography - no matter how curious I was to see the inappropriate things on the internet, I always knew that child pornography was evil, and I never looked at it. 

 

This was all happening at a time of early transition for me, from childhood through adolescence into adulthood. I began to care more about the opposite gender (for me, females), I developed insecurities, things not to be unexpected from one who began to enter puberty. The world suddenly became a lot more complicated. In the face of the new, unhappy ideas, concepts, events from fictional movies or real news, I suddenly was not happy like I was in my childhood state of innocence. I did not understand how to properly handle this information that I was receiving of my own free will after years of living in a blissful state of innocence. I began to become angry at the world. This resulted in me occasionally treating other people at school in a negative, angry manner. I began to view the world as a horrible place, filled with nothing but hatred, pain, and fear. I questioned my lifelong Christian perspective on the concept of God. This, combined with my guilt due to my newfound interest in human sexuality, began to write dark chapters in my life for the first time.

 

Now, moving onward in time, returning to the day my online friend had convinced me to watch My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. The show had a profoundly positive impact on me, moving me at my very core, inviting the very essence of my existence to awake to a glorious dawn. I loved (and continue to love) everything about the show: its characters, its art, its music, its stories. The show moves me, all the way from the harmonious beauty of Equestria down to the personalities of its vibrant characters, all the way down to the subtle chords of background music carefully placed throughout the episodes. The show began to extinguish the fires of fear and anger I had kindled within myself. I was once again happy. Slowly, over a long period of time, a process that continues today, my very core beliefs about the world and my place in it were monumentally shifted in a positive manner.

 

Firstly, I must thank my parents. If it were not for the way that they raised me, I do not believe I would have been able to be the person I am today. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic may still have helped me, but it would have been much more difficult for it to have the profound effect it has had on me if I did not have my parents' ways of raising me with love and kindness to draw from. This is not to say that I never got in trouble. They love me, which includes taking necessary parental action to teach me that all actions have consequences, positive or negative, or anywhere in between. However, they have never once beat me or abused me in any way, and they never will, and for that, along with many other things in my life that I have recognized to be great blessings, I thank them. 

 

Now, to explain how the show has moved me at my very core. When I started watching the show, I was looking at the world in the wrong way. I was looking at the world in a very negative, angry, hateful way, which resulted in me treating others negatively sometimes, as well as being unhappy. The absolute love in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic inspired me to kindle that love within my own heart, that love, that fire of friendship. I remembered that the news is not representative of the world. The news often lacks a very important piece: human love and kindness. It often focuses instead on the horror in the world. I began to understand that even though there is great evil in the world, there is great love, and the only way to undo and erase evil is through love. My previous response to the evil in the world was hatred and anger, which was only leading me down the path towards the object of my hatred. A spiritual irony resulting from misdirected energy. I began to direct my energy, my thoughts, my life in a positive direction. Instead of responding to tragedies, violence, and hatred in the world with hatred of my own, I decided to respond with love. How does one respond with love? The answer to this question can vary from person to person, but for me it has been a determination to be happy, and to help others to be happy. I may not be able to rescue hostages taken by murderous terrorists on the other side of the world, but allowing the awareness of such events to suck the life and happiness from my soul would only make the world a shade darker by negatively effecting my life experience and the life experience of those within close social vicinity to myself. I decided that instead of letting such things control my life, I would take control of my life. I would be happy. I would open my eyes to the happiness in the world that is around me everyday: my parents, my friends, human kindness, nature, the world. There is so much more to the world than fear and hatred. When I feel particularly oppressed by negative events in the world, whether or not they happened to me in my personal life, it always helps me to remember the bigger picture. No matter how sad I felt at any given moment, somewhere in the world there was a person hugging someone else. A person feeling absolutely joyful. Two people getting married. Two parents looking at their newborn child for the first time. A family laughing together while watching a movie. All around the world, millions of people are experiencing the love and joy in life every second. In the face of that fact, whatever would be bothering me at the moment would suddenly loosen its hold on me, my happiness no longer being constrained. Yes, there are also millions of people around the world experiencing sadness, fear, hatred, pain, or grief at this moment. However, from my personal experiences, every happy moment is so much more powerful than a sad one. When I am feeling unhappy, in retrospect I feel like I had been looking at the world through a drinking straw. This drinking straw was composed of my fears, insecurities, and hatreds. Looking at the world while allowing myself to be constrained by them is practically impossible. Eventually, I realize I must cast that drinking straw far away, and open both of my eyes fully to the world around me. Then, and only then, can I make a positive impact on the world. I can only help add joy to the world by being joyful myself. I can only love others if I love myself. I must live the change I wish to see. Through this, I can leave the world a slightly better place than it was before I entered it. We all can, just by smiling at a friend, doing a favor for someone, being there for people when they are gripped by unhappiness. I am not saying that everyone in the world who is unhappy right now is unhappy through their own free will. Horrible things can happen to people. Those people are not looking through drinking straws as I was, they are having to deal with very difficult situations. However, the realization that I have come to is that me looking through a drinking straw will not help those people. Even if I did not get the opportunity to help people in very bad situations (which I have), I can still contribute to the love in the world by being happy, and helping those around me to be happy. 

 

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic has helped me to do this on so many occasions, and continues to do so today. The show's lively, vibrant colors, beautiful artwork, lovable characters and charming humor warms my heart even on the coldest of days. On a deeper level, the show reminds me of what I described in the above paragraph about how responding to hatred in the world with hatred of my own will not make the world a better place. The acts of kindness the characters show one another, the lessons they learn, inspire me to go into the world with these virtues in my heart. Then, and only then, I can live the change I wish to see.

 

Now, at the age of 16 and in the 10th grade, I can think back about how much the show has helped me in the past, and continues to do so today. The show has inspired me to be more tolerant. I used to instantly judge anything I thought was "girly" or "stupid." Now, I try not to do that anymore. There is nothing wrong with a male, regardless of his sexual orientation, age, etc, to love My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. There is nothing wrong with a female, regardless of her sexual orientation, age, etc to love Transformers. "Gender roles" in society attempt to dictate what certain people of certain genders should like or do, and if someone chooses not to conform, they can be attacked with accusations of being a homosexual, when the act of liking a TV show has nothing to do with sexual orientation anyway. I also became tolerant of homosexuality in general. I used to think there was something wrong with it, when I was a younger child, but now I know that there is absolutely nothing wrong with homosexuality. Heterosexual, homosexual, male, female, black, white, we are all living beings. "No matter what our differences, we're all ponies." I remember back in 9th grade, a few of my friends also got into the show. I remember there was a guy in one of my classes who I used to argue with all the time. When I continued to get more into My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, I realized one day that my previous annoyance and anger that would cloud my heart in the past when I talked to him was gone. From that day onward, he and I were able to become friends. He was one of the people who had gotten into the show also. I felt inspired to treat others with patience and kindness. I viewed the world as a wonderful place in which bad things happened sometimes, instead of the other way around. Because, truly, the world is a wonderful place. The number of acts of kindness shown between people throughout the ages outnumber the stars in the sky, whether or not they ended up in history books or news programs. We all have free will, and we can all choose to direct it in a positive manner. 

 

Now, this is not to say that I never get angry, or feel hatred, or say something mean. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic has still changed my very core outlook on life in a positive manner, regardless of the fact that some days, even now, I forget that, and focus on the negative. However, thanks to the show, it is much easier for me to avoid negative ways of thinking, and it has become much easier for me to recognize past behaviors and attitudes in myself that were of a negative nature, and to avoid chaining them to myself once again. Thanks to my parents' love and kindness, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, and other things, I have begun to learn how to hold the world in a loving heart. We all make mistakes, but it doesn't matter how many mistakes someone has made. What matters is whether or not they wish to learn from them, and change their thoughts, words, and actions in a positive manner.

 

Earlier in this post, I mentioned that when I was 14 years old I questioned my Christian faith. I used to respond to this issue with anger and hatred, but the positive impact My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic has on me has helped me to not become stressed out and angry about religion as much as I used to. I am no longer a Christian, because I have some disagreements with certain Christian beliefs, but I do believe in God. My spiritual beliefs arise from my studies of near death experiences, my own experiences with the otherworldly, and my family's experience with the otherworldly. I do not subscribe to any particular religion. My spiritual beliefs are basically that the purpose of life is to love others, to help others. The greatest things we can do are sometimes things that seem to be the most simple acts of kindness and unselfishness. I also believe in reincarnation, and I believe that we are all eternal souls. I do not believe in hell as found in many religions, and I do not believe that God judges anyone. I believe that people judge themselves, however, they should not do so. I could go into much greater depth about my spiritual beliefs, but that would be beyond the scope of this post. If you do want to learn more about my spiritual beliefs, please feel free to send me a message, and I will gladly talk to you about it. I often find spiritual inspiration in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic through the love and kindness the characters show one another, the lessons the characters learn, through the beauty of their world and their music.

 

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic has also greatly increased my love and appreciation for the beautiful aspects of nature. I used to utterly resent going outside, doing nothing but complain about the temperature, or being afraid of bugs and bees, etc. Now, I love being outside, but preferably in mild temperatures in which I can comfortably view the nature around me. I also love the rain very much. I love trees, the sky, the grass, the animals. It is all so beautiful and wonderful, and it is all free. It is right outside my door. All I have to do is enter into the world with open eyes and a loving heart. 

 

I hope that, one day, I will get the chance to thank the creators of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic for making such a wonderful, beautiful, inspirational show that has changed my life in such a monumentally positive way.

 

I am very happy to see that several other people who have replied to this topic have also been positively affected by My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.

 

The Elements of Harmony live within us all. Fluttershy: Kindness, Rarity: Generosity, Applejack: Honesty, Pinkie Pie: Laughter, Rainbow Dash: Loyalty, Twilight Sparkle: Magic, the magic of friendship, that spark of life and love within us all. They all represent different aspects of a loving heart that we can all choose to have toward ourselves, others, and the world.

 

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic has changed my life. It has resurfaced the ideals of love, kindness, patience, and tolerance that my parents taught me when I was a young child, that I had buried underneath my fear, anger, and hatred. I now treasure these ideals, and they are the lanterns on the path of life that only require positively guided free will to chase away the shadows of fear and hatred. As Princess Cadence said, "The Crystal Heart has returned. Use the light and love within you to ensure that King Sombra does not." The Crystal Heart is the life and love within us all. It does not need to be returned: it is already here. All we must do is choose to use it to overcome the fear and hatred we bury within ourselves at different points in our lives, and continue overcoming it, until one day fear and hatred will leave our hearts and never return. 

Edited February 10, 2013 by SCS

[Retro*Derpy 3,183]

I haven't caught on to any of the lessons it delivered, it is just something to help relax and enjoy to see. Though I know this show can really help out people.

[FireFox 82]

Actualy MLP FIM has been sort of a corner stone for me as far as me reforming my view of people and society in general. As I have mentioned in previous posts I was in the U.S Army and I fought in Iraq as well as Afghanistan. Needles to say after experiencing the darker side humanity (war, oppression,ect) I came back to the states with a very, very negative view on humanity in general. In fact I had pretty much lost all hope in the human race, and constantly questioned weather or not this world was even worth existing in. Then something utterly amazing and unexpected happened, I found peace and solace in  the most unlikely thing ever, MLP. I started watching season 1 and was instantly hooked on the show and more so the Brony community. Slowly but surely my views on society changed for the brighter. Now instead of focusing on the dark side of humanity, I have come to realise that there is much good in people. Thank you Brony community, you really did change my life for the better!

 

Amen!  I served in the U.S. Air Force and feel the same way.  MLP:FiM is the only thing that has put a smile on my face in many years.  Every time I feel down, I just listen to the Smile song, and everything seems to be a bit better.  I've actually dreamed about Pinkie singing the smile song.  When it happens I wake up with a smile, and not the nightmares I usually have.

[Galvin Starlight 16]

The episode lesson of "Sweet and Elite" really touched me. I have never really seen a show with a lesson saying that no matter where you from you should be appreciative because it, in some way, it shaped you into who you are today. For a long time I didn't really like where I was from. I was always filled with a great wanderlust, a need to go out and explore the world. I was also bullied for a portion of my life and I had a lot resentment for those people. This episode really taught me how to forgive, because I like who I am, and no matter how much I may not like those people and where I'm from, they have made me into who I am today. With that knowlegde I can forgive and even thank all those people in my life.

Just abother reason why I really love this show.

[Sam 30]

I've searched for similar posts although didn't come across anything, so sorry if this is a duplicate thread.

 

I was wondering if anypony has learnt anything from MLP:FIM, or if they have come across a scenario where they have remembered one of the lessons from the show?

 

For me my parents did a good job of teaching me as a child, but MLP has done a good job of reinforcing what I already knew.

I think one of the most significant lessons is in Bridle Gossip. It teaches not to judge people by their appearance/behaviour. It's significant for me since after being diagnosed with a medical condition (Chron's disease) I've looked at other disabled people in a completely different way. For example I used to think all overweight people were just lazy and eat lots of junk food. That was wrong of me since there are people out there who have conditions where they can't help but be the way they are. Also I've found other disabled people to be some of the friendliest people I've met.

[mycarhasaMoustache 449]

The main thing mlp did for me is it helped me open my mind to trying new things, It also taught me to not cast judgement on things I know nothing about. 

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 41,456]

It taught me to be more social (Mainly online though, regular interactions are hell for me) and it is helping me accept myself for who I am, with all of my flaws included.

[Leafeon 2,702]

It taught me that making a living off of performing is bad. And that performers should be shunned and put in exile.

 

*grumble*

 

Not much, actually.

Edited February 21, 2013 by Firebolt