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It was 1999, I was 7 years old, and Spongebob Squarepants had just arrived on television. Spongebob quickly became one of my favorite shows, and looking back, I learned a lot of good lessons from watching the show all day. Now, when watching the show, I have noticed a lot of positive characteristics in Spongebob’s character. For one, he is the most optimistic character I have ever seen. He is also extremely supportive of all of his friends, regardless of what they think of him. If we could all grab a little piece of Spongebob’s optimism, the world would be a much better place.

1. Optimism – A cheery sponge with a shining personality. He is so optimistic, to that point that it gets annoying! When something bad happens to Spongebob, he never panics. He analyzes the situation, and sees it from the best point of view. For example, in one of the first episodes, and my personal favorite, “Pizza Delivery”, Spongebob and Squidward get lost while trying to deliver a pizza. Squidward immediately panics, terrified of being lost, and the possibility of  never coming back home. Spongebob is completely optimistic about the situation, and has faith in his “Pioneer Navigation Skills” to bring him and Squidward back home. If Spongebob hadn’t been extremely optimistic, and allowed Squidward’s low energy to resonate with him, the situation would have turned out different.

2. Kindness – Spongebob also has a strong urge to help others. An example of this can be seen in an episode where he is asked to do a chore, building a telescope for Mr. Krabs. On that same day, he must go to Patrick’s birthday party, and help out Sandy with a business presentation. Out of the need to help others, and fear of disappointing his friends, Spongebob verbally commits to all 3 tasks. At the end of the episode, Patrick, Sandy, and Mr. Krabs find out that Spongebob was trying to juggle all 3 events at once, and they feel moved by his kindness.

3. Innocence – Another strong word to describe the lovable Spongebob Squarepants, is innocence. Looking at the kind eyes of the compassionate sponge, it is almost a given how innocent Spongebob’s soul is. Any wrong that Spongebob commits, will cause a huge bubble of guilt inside. Spongebob cannot live with any guilt inside, and he immediately confesses and apologizes for any wrongdoings.

4. Fearlessness/Bravery – Although Spongebob exhibits fear in many social/work situations, he has an element of stupidity mixed with fearlessness that makes for an interesting combination. A perfect example of this would be “Krusty Krushers”, where Mr. Krabs sends Spongebob and Patrick into a wrestling arena, where they are faced with champion wrestlers who are about 30 times larger than they are. The fearlessness of Spongebob and Patrick combined is inspiring, and no matter what scare tactics the wrestlers try out on our brave duo, or the pain they inflict, Spongebob and Patrick never let up.

5. Relentlessness – Spongebob is relentless, just ask Squidward! When Spongebob wants to play games with his angry neighbor, Squidward says “NO!” about 95% of the time. Spongebob keeps asking, literally dozens of times, until Squidward finally gives in. Spongebob knows that Squidward is a very angry and pessimistic character, but he treats Squidward as if he were a nice man, and a best friend (which he is to Spongebob).

I did not list all of the admirable traits of Spongebob Squarepants, because there are many different new things that we learn about Spongebob in each tiny 11 minute episode. What I do know, is that Spongebob, while having certain undesirable traits (annoying, curious stupidity), his good traits far outweigh the bad. Optimism is something that Spongebob bases his entire life off of, and that is why I admire him so much. I will forever have a place for Spongebob and his Optimism, Bravery, Compassion, Kindness, Generosity, and Relentlessness.

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