Whoever your favorite character is in Friends, there’s no doubt that these guys are not always living their best lives. Just like any group of twenty-somethings (or thirty-somethings, if we’re honest) these friends tended to make mistakes - some big ones, some little ones, and some that had us screaming at the TV, wondering how anyone could be so stupid!
Of course, the best things about watching our favorite sitcom characters mess up is that we can learn from those mistakes without having to make them ourselves. From work issues to romantic entanglements, these are some of the biggest lessons we learned from Rachel Green’s slip ups.
Not Proofreading Her Resume
This may be a minor mistake, but it’s definitely one that you don’t want to make! When Rachel was attempting to find a new job instead of continuing to waitress at Central Perk, she created an (admittedly sparse) resume, and started sending copies out everywhere… before she realized that there was a typo! Things might be easier now that no one sends out paper copies of resumes, but still… proofread that document before applying, because any employer is going to be put off by spelling mistakes.
Lying To Her Colleagues About Smoking
Another work error, when Rachel got a new job and discovered that her colleagues smoke. She felt like she was being left out of breaks and important work conversations, so she decided to take up smoking herself to join in. Not only is picking up a deadly habit a terrible idea in general, but the plan totally backfired on her.
She convinced her colleagues to ‘quit’ with her, and then when they failed and saw her ‘succeeding’, they refused to let her come out on breaks with them. If she’d just been honest, she could have joined them on their breaks without smoking at all - a reminder to just tell the truth.
Almost Marrying The Wrong Man
Admittedly, this happened before the show started, but Rachel’s almost-wedding to Barry would have been a huge mistake - and even almost marrying him wasn’t the best idea! She thought that she wanted to marry him so that she could continue being a spoiled and pampered princess, with a rich husband and no job. Of course, she finally realized that money wasn’t everything, and gave it up to try and strike out on her own… teaching us all not to live a life that just doesn’t feel right.
Lying To A Potential Employer During An Interview
More career mistakes - and this was a big one, a job interview that not only didn’t get her the job she wanted, but actually lost her the job she already had! The issue was that during her interview, her boss walked into the restaurant, causing her to start a ridiculous series of lies. She could have just told the interviewer that she spotted her boss and rescheduled, but instead, she lost both jobs. More lessons in just being honest!
Refusing To Stand Up To Her Father
Admittedly, this is something that Rachel knows is one of her weaknesses - she just struggles to stand up to her father because she just shrinks when he’s around… but this gets a little ridiculous! When she’s pregnant, and tells her father, she claims that Ross doesn’t want to marry her, and puts on a whole helpless little girl act instead of just acting like an adult and telling him the truth. It seems like Rachel really does have a problem with being honest…
Hiring An Assistant Based On Looks
Admittedly, anyone would love to have an assistant that looks like Tag Jones, but that’s just not a reason to hire one unless they are actually the most qualified candidate. Rachel, however, decides to hire a totally unqualified person becuase he’s gorgeous, and then decides to start sleeping with him, even though that power dynamic is all kinds of wrong! Learn from Rachel, and keep it professional in the workplace.
Getting A Cat Based On Looks
Another time that Rachel messes up because she thinks that looks are more important than substance - and one that animal lovers just can’t get over. At one point, she buys a cat on a whim, just because it’s the same breed as one she loved as a child. Spoiler alert - animals aren’t clones based on breed, and Rachel’s new cat isn’t as sweet as the one she once knew. So, Rachel being Rachel, she actually just… sells it.
Two lessons here: first up, animals aren’t accessories, and they take love and care, and lesson two… don’t just ditch a pet that you don’t like!
Trying To Sabotage Ross’s Relationships (Over and Over)
We could pick one specific relationship, but let’s be honest about this - Rachel has something of a history of sabotaging Ross’s relationships - including his relationship with her! She flies to London to try to stop his wedding, she convinces an earlier girlfriend to shave her head, she constantly manipulates Ross into not dating anyone else. And the lesson here is to actually (shocker) just be honest about wanting a relationship! If Rachel had been straightforward from the start, they could have saved each other a lot of time and heartache.
Not Asking What Chandler’s Job Was
Admittedly, most of us aren’t going to be in a situation where we have to know our friends’ jobs or lose an apartment, but we can still learn from this particularly ridiculous mistake of Rachel’s. Learn from her total ignorance and ask your friends about what they do for a living! Not just because it might come in handy during a quiz, but because it’s kind of important to show an interest in your friends’ lives.
Not Being Clear About What A ‘Break’ Was
Some people would but this whole ‘we were on a break’ situation down to a mistake on Ross’s part… but if you really think about it, the whole issue wasn’t whether or not he ‘cheated’… it’s that neither of them actually laid out what they thought a ‘break’ was in the first place! It was obvious that Ross didn’t know what she was talking about when she suggested mid-fight that they take a break, because he suggested ‘frozen yogurt’, and instead of clarifying properly, she left him to think that she was ending things completely. Ross is also at fault here for not checking, of course, but learn from Rachel’s mistakes and lay out exactly what you mean when it comes to relationships to avoid this kind of problem.
