In today’s article, we are going to continue with our deep-dive into the characters of Sex and the City. Last time we touched on the icon herself, Carrie Bradshaw, and today we will continue by discussing my personal favorite of the main four—Charlotte York. I believe we can all learn something from Charlotte’s fierce positivity and hopeless romanticism, and learn to live our lives a bit more like this Upper East Side princess.
#1: Living with Your “Head in the Clouds” Is Not Always a Bad Thing
As I watched Charlotte’s journey throughout the six seasons of SATC, I couldn’t help but fall in love with her insatiable fight for the “fairytale ending”. Despite the bleak, and sometimes downright awful, dating environment she faced, Charlotte never succumbed to the belief that she would not find her Prince Charming and ride off into the glimmering lights of New York City. Even when criticized repeatedly by her four closest confidants, Charlotte was defiant in her opposition against what the world was telling her she should expect and accept. I have high expectations for all aspects of my life, and Charlotte showed me that not only should I maintain these, I should also adamantly advertise them. We are all worth our wildest dreams, and we should never drop our expectations just to make the world around us happy.
#2: If at First You Don’t Succeed, Try Again
I have to be completely honest, I was pretty much devastated when (SATC SPOILER ALERT) Charlotte and Trey got a divorce. After all the time spent with many different losers, the cutest wedding ever, and the perfect new last name, I thought Charlotte finally found her happy ending. When her first marriage came to an end, I truly felt Charlotte’s pain. Everything she had ever hoped for was handed to her on a silver platter, then tragically ripped away. What I, and Charlotte as well, seemed to grieve the most about the divorce was not necessarily the end of her relationship with Trey, but rather the shattering of her fantasy. This would be devastating for anyone to go through, yet instead of wallowing in her pity and deciding that “love was dead”, Charlotte ran head first back into her identity and pursuit of a happy marriage. With her second (and very successful) marriage to Harry, Charlotte imparted the message to me that failure is only possible if you decide to give up. Even when it was easier to never try again, Charlotte knew she was worth more than her fear of failure told her she was.
Overall, I believe Charlotte is probably the bravest of the girls on the show. While it is totally understandable and somewhat inevitable that life will beat us down, Charlotte taught me that all of life’s trials should never take my shine away. Failure doesn’t have to extend throughout my life, I can learn the lessons I was meant to and go out there and try again. Dreams may seem far-fetched, but settling for less will be even more disappointing than waiting for the best. Charlotte will truly always hold such a special place in my heart, and I can only hope to live my life as fearlessly and gracefully as she does.