Valuable life lessons from “The Walking Dead” | Blog

Have you ever watched a show that you developed such a strong emotional attachment to? Yes, me too! For me, that show is The Walking Dead (TWD). I first watched The Walking Dead during the COVID-19 pandemic and binge-watched the show every moment I wasn’t busy with online classes. I immersed myself in the TWD universe and its characters – TWD was my escape from the reality we were all living through. When I lost friends and ways to connect during quarantine, the TWD characters quickly became my replacements. I saw the characters’ strength and abilities completely change as they fought to survive and protect those they loved. Throughout the 11 seasons, I felt every emotion imaginable.

I believe that TWD is more than just a story about zombies. TWD is really a story about heartbreak, loss, grief, resilience, and most of all, the power of human connection. For a long time, I really only had my brother (shoutout to Nathan) to talk to about TWD, so I’m happy to share my thoughts here. You don’t have to like zombies or be familiar with TWD at all to hopefully learn something from the lessons I’ve learned since watching it.

Don’t let the cruel world change you

It’s natural to be in survival mode. TWD is a zombie apocalypse, for goodness sake! However, some characters become reckless and go to extreme attempts to protect themselves. For example, even though Dale suffered a painful death, he was always the wise and reasonable one of the group. While Rick and his group debated killing a young man out of fear that he might be a threat, Dale reminded the group that he is a human being worth more than a five-minute conversation. He remained firm in his morals and values, showing that sometimes our circumstances can cause us to lose our self-esteem, but we must not allow the darkness of the world to change us. As Dale said in season two, episode six, “At least I can say that when the world went (to shit), I didn’t get dragged down with it.” Even in a world that feels like it’s crumbling before our eyes, we must choose to hold onto our hope and compassion, especially for one another. We must hold onto our humanity and do the right thing, even if it makes us unpopular.

forgiveness

No one is prepared for a zombie apocalypse, so the characters in TWD were bound to make mistakes. As such, forgiveness will always be a recurring theme in TWD. One of the most heartbreaking storylines is when Negan kills Maggie’s husband Glenn and leaves her to raise the unborn child alone. Although Negan regrets killing Glenn and apologizes to Maggie for the pain he caused her, Maggie is unable to forgive him. In turn, she harbors a pent-up resentment against him that makes life in the apocalyptic world so much more difficult. Similarly, we might find ourselves in a situation where we don’t want to forgive those who have wronged us, but I’ve learned that being unwilling to forgive others makes things more difficult. Don’t get me wrong, forgiveness isn’t easy. There may be times when we think we’ve forgiven someone, only to have it all come back to haunt us. Forgiveness is a process and a commitment to letting go of something. Maggie may not have forgiven Negan or be friends with him, but she is reaching a point where she can work with Negan for the good of all. Forgiveness is work, but ultimately it is for you and your peace.

Family does not always have to be blood relatives

Most of the people in The Walking Dead who become best friends, siblings at heart, or even lovers didn’t know each other before the apocalypse. If the world had never ended, they probably would have passed each other on the street without a second thought or batting an eyelid, completely unaware that in another world they would be inseparable. How crazy is that? What allowed them to go from strangers to family was all the time they spent together figuring out how to live and all the moments they had each other’s backs without having to ask for loyalty. My understanding of this is that family is the people who are with you when your world is completely in shambles. They are the ones who fight for you and with you.

Hard times make you stronger

Something my brother and I rave about every time we rewatch The Walking Dead is the immense character development. Carol, for example, went from being a reliable and defenseless person to one of the strongest warriors in Rick’s group. She completely wipes out the wolves when they try to invade her home of Alexandria by disguising herself as one of them. From losing her 12-year-old daughter Sophia to losing her son Henry at the hands of the Whisperers, she suffered unbearable losses. Yet despite all the obstacles, she continued to thrive, hunt for resources, and fight for a future. It’s nice to see such remarkable growth in each character who brought their unique skills to the group. They understood that in order to make it, they had to step out of their comfort zone, whether that meant learning to use a weapon or simply overcoming their fear of zombies (*cough* Eugene *cough*). While it wasn’t always easy, their circumstances forced them to become the fearless leaders all TWD fans know and love. I see this as a reminder to celebrate our growth. It also shows that sometimes difficult things can push us to do things we never thought we could do. Overall, their resilience to always keep going no matter what happens in my life inspires me.

There is so much more to learn from The Walking Dead, but the most important lesson I learned from it is that even in the midst of chaos, loss, and uncertainty, we must hold on to each other. We must also hold on to love and hope for the future.