The movie Legally Blonde has been a staple in my movie library and a “go-to” for me when I am feeling blue. I literally would watch this movie all the time! Heck… Even when I was super nervous to start college, my Mom put it on for me the night before to ease my fears and make me think “If Elle Woods can do it, then I can!” Now, some people I have come across have scoffed at this movie… chalking it up to a romantic comedy about a “dumb” blonde who follows a man to law school. Well, I am here to make a case (see what I did there) against that and prove to you that Elle Woods is extremely underestimated, truly teaching us all some deep life lessons. Before I begin I want to address something: YES, I understand fully that Elle Woods was an extremely privileged character; I mean she grew up next door from Aaron Spelling… and her parents footed the entire Harvard bill … so yeah, I get that she is privileged. BUT I am also a firm believer that no matter where you come from, or no matter who you are, you can learn something from anyone, from any walk of life. So, with that being said lets begin with ‘10 life lessons that Elle Woods taught me’!
10 Life Lessons that Elle Woods from Legally Blonde Taught Me!
- Always put your ALL into something!
Right in the beginning when Warner breaks up with Elle and she goes on her quest to get into Harvard Law School, we find out that Elle hasn’t just started to become a hard worker, she has been one her entire academic career. She states to her friends and school counselor that she has a 4.0 GPA and in her admissions essay she states that she is President of her sorority. The point I am trying to make is that Elle didn’t just become a hard worker to get a man, she has been one throughout college and it has done her well. Yeah, she could have ridden on her parents’ coat tails and just had C’s throughout all of college but she didn’t AND because she didn’t, it helped her get into Harvard. Always put 100% into your commitments!
2. Always take the High Road!
There is a scene in the movie where the antagonist, Vivian, invites Elle to a party and states that it is a costume party. Elle gets all dressed up in her famous bunny costume and confidently walks into the party. Quickly, she finds out that it is NOT a costume party and that Vivian was playing a cruel joke to embarrass her. The next scene shows Warner asking Elle why she is all dressed up. (PAUSE) Okay, at that moment, I always wondered why she just didn’t RAT out Vivian to Warner, proving to him that Vivian was a “constipated frigid b****!” Instead, she takes the high road and she simply states to Warner that she just wanted to dress up; she moves forward. She “LET IT GO!” and let karma take the wheel!
3. Look for the good in all people!
Elle, from the beginning, never judged anyone by his or her looks, career or position in life. She accepted everyone for who they were and let their actions speak to their character.
4. Be Confident!
In this day and age, especially as a woman, a lot of us doubt our self worth and sometimes think that we are not good enough or have an irrational fear that if we try something new, that someone is going to claim that we are a fraud! Elle didn’t do that. From the moment she wanted to go to Harvard, she never thought she wasn’t good enough. EVEN when the guidance counselor sarcastically poked fun at the idea, she didn’t let that faze her. Sometimes we let the peanut gallery stop us from continuing down the path to our dreams; sometimes that is all it takes to convince us that we are not good enough. So, ‘ELLE WOODS’ THAT SHIZZZ… ignore the peanut gallery and get into YOUR HARVARD!
5. Being kind is better than being popular!
Elle always chose being kind versus being part of the “in” crowd! Not once, throughout the whole movie, was she not kind to everyone. UNLESS, of course they pushed her and were nasty to her… which brings me to the next lesson.
6. Stand up for yourself!
The pivotal (and my personal favorite) scene is when Warner tells her she is not smart enough for law school, to which she says this legendary line, “I’ll show you how valuable Elle Woods can be!” I mean, while watching this movie, how can you not get chills and think “hell yeah girl!”
7. Don’t sacrifice your identity!
From the moment she arrived at Harvard in her famous pink outfit with her dog Bruiser, checking in asking for the activities calendar, buying a colorful Apple computer and making her résumé pink and scented, Elle never changed who she was. I think a lot of us naturally want to fit in, we want to be accepted and sometimes on the path to that, we change and lose who we are. Elle teaches us that you can fit in being who you are right now and not need to change your identity, because just maybe, that is the missing piece of the puzzle.
8. Forgiveness is an important part of life!
Elle had every single right to write off Vivian for the rest of her life but after Vivian apologized, Elle forgave; teaching us that forgiveness is important for not just the person we are forgiving but for our ourselves.
9. Don’t break promises!
After Elle gets chosen to be a part of Professor Callahan’s special case, she connects with Brooke Windham who is being accused of killing her husband. Since they are both from the same sorority, they bond and Brooke confides in Elle by giving her “real” alibi, which Elle swears to not tell anyone. Upon returning to Callahan’s office, she is pressured by Warren, the man she chased to law school in the first place, to give up Brooke’s alibi. She refuses and states back that she gave her word and does not spill. Let’s look at this just a little deeper and ask ourselves, in that situation, would we do the same? Elle had everything to win by spilling Brooke’s alibi. She could have been made partner, impressed Warner and look pretty damn good to the other law students… but she didn’t. Elle teaches us that our word and being morally right is more important than anything you can receive back and unfortunately, in this corporate or “rat race” world we live in, it is rare to find people not taking the selfish route. Let your word be gold! Define your character and choose the road less traveled.
10. Always have faith in yourself!
The final life lesson that Elle teaches us, throughout the whole movie and reiterates it in her graduation speech, is to “always have faith in yourself!” Elle continually trusts her gut, from standing up for and getting Paulette’s dog back, to winning the final court case for Brooke by calling out the stepdaughter and her hair perm. Elle has faith in herself and through thick and thin she prevails at the end while NEVER sacrificing who she is!
I am sure there are many more life lessons that Elle has taught us and that you, yourself realized while watching the movie, so let me know below if there are any I missed! I hope you all enjoyed and I hope that Elle Woods taught you as much as she has taught me!
“You must always have faith in people. And most importantly, you must always have faith in yourself!” – Elle Woods
WE ARE A PARTICIPANT IN THE AMAZON SERVICES LLC ASSOCIATES PROGRAM, AN AFFILIATE ADVERTISING PROGRAM DESIGNED TO PROVIDE A MEANS FOR US TO EARN FEES BY LINKING TO AMAZON.COM AND AFFILIATED SITES.
Love this. Great content idea. And I never thought of Elle as a role model. A silly girl in pink maybe. But you nailed it. Her character was definitely driven by kindness and strength!
Hi Lynee! Thank you for your comment. I am glad you enjoyed it!