25 Life Lessons from SpongeBob SquarePants

Art by Trevor Pacelli

By Trevor Pacelli
Twenty-five years ago, this iconic yellow sea sponge debuted on Nickelodeon and is currently in his fourteenth season with no signs of slowing down. The series has spawned three theatrical feature films, two spinoff series, a Broadway musical, a Netflix film, and another Netflix original expected in 2025. Yet the first three seasons and the first theatrical film were the most influential time for the franchise; the kids who watched SpongeBob during those years carried the funniest moments into modern internet culture, complete with over a hundred different meme templates.

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I’m a part of the generation whose grade school years were filled with the series’ golden age, and in that time, SpongeBob became my main special interest. I watched the show every night, drew the characters constantly, came up with my own season of episodes, and even introduced the series to my family. Our favorite episodes were Frankendoodle, Rock-a-Bye Bivalve, and the legendary Band Geeks. SpongeBob changed my life more than any other TV show ever has, so to celebrate this monumental year for the immortal talking cheese, here are twenty-five valuable life lessons he’s taught my generation:

1. Be true to yourself, don’t miss your chance, and you won’t end up like the fool who ripped his pants. (Ripped Pants)
2. Home is where you’re surrounded by others who care about you. (Texas)
3. F is for friends who do stuff together, U is for you and me, N is for anywhere at any time at all! (F.U.N.)
4. If your community helps you in your hour of need, you are a winner. (Band Geeks)
5. When you’re lost, there will always be strangers kind enough to help you get home. (Rock Bottom)
6. Anyone can find joy in the littlest things with a little imagination. (Idiot Box)
7. Everybody’s best at something, but nobody’s best at everything. (Pressure)
8. Aggressive people won’t reap any rewards, but aggressively nice people will. (Walking Small)
9. You can still stand up for somebody you don’t like. (Pizza Delivery)
10. Know your limits in helping others. (Can You Spare a Dime?)
11. Buying gifts isn’t always an ideal love language for everyone. (Krusty Love)
12. Instead of overreacting, admit when you’ve done wrong. (Life of Crime)
13. Though some advice may sound stupid, pay attention. (The Camping Episode)
14. Let things in nature stay in nature. (My Pretty Seahorse)
15. Your attempts to bring somebody beneath you will always flop. (Artist Unknown)
16. Your lies will be exposed when you put yourself in a bad situation. (SpongeGuard on Duty)
17. Don’t make fun of someone unless you’re willing to also make fun of yourself. (Squirrel Jokes)
18. Don’t let competition ruin your friendships. (The Fry Cook Games)
19. Don’t get close to something you know is harmful. (Hooky)
20. Don’t act overconfident to look tough, because often, you can’t win. (Sandy, SpongeBob, and the Worm)
21. Don’t imitate someone else to gain recognition. (Big Pink Loser)
22. Don’t let personal attacks by jerks bring you down. (Pickles)
23. Returning to your youth isn’t always good. (Mid-Life Crustacean)
24. You can love some of the things you loved as a kid and still be an adult. (Grandma’s Kisses)
25. Don’t feel ashamed to be who you are. (The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie)

These last three points are perhaps SpongeBob’s most important lessons and the essence of why the franchise remains so close to the hearts of its fans. SpongeBob is an adult with his own home and a job in fast food, yet has been much more successful than other kids’ shows that star child protagonists. SpongeBob’s appeal surpasses what grade school audiences enjoy because his situation in a dead-end minimum-wage job under a greedy boss is instantly relatable to adults. Likewise, the franchise’s original fans have remained committed over the years since now they can rewatch the classic episodes under a new lens, laughing at the parts they laughed at when they were kids but for different reasons.

Kids like to laugh at grouchy Squidward complaining about his job and then getting beat up for it because he’s such a killjoy jerk, but adults laugh because they see themselves in Squidward—stuck with unfulfilled dreams in an unfulfilling job. Kids like to laugh at SpongeBob in Pizza Delivery singing, “Krusty-KRAYAYAAYAYAAB-PIIIZZAAA-IS-THE-PIZZA-YEAH-AAAH-FOR-YOU-AND…MEEE-EEE-EEE-EE-EE-EEE!!” because of his silly singing voice. Yet adults laugh because of how much SpongeBob’s singing annoys Squidward, which sparks those adult viewers’ recollections of dealing with similar annoying people.

Hardly any TV shows, for kids or adults or anyone in between, could speak so broadly to the inner child of multiple generations and encourage them to sustain their youth when reality wants them to move on. Thus, I’d like to thank the late creator Stephen Hillenburg for massively influencing many to remain youthful over the past twenty-five years.
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Trevor is an author and illustrator of books about life with autism, movies, bullying, disabilities and a new novel for middle-grade readers. See his books here.