Blog: Top Five Things I Learned from Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

Everyone has a first book they love. From Harry Potter to Jane Austen, the range is infinite, but there’s always one story that just grabs you. As a sixth grader whose goal it was to accumulate the most Accelerated Reading points in the class, I found my book in “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants”.  This series has it all – heartbreak, death, drama, love – with a little extra, but what I love most about “the Sisterhood” is what it taught my prepubescent self. Here are the Top 5 things I learned from Lena, Bridget, Carmen, and Tibby. 

5) Foreign men are hottest
First Bridget couldn’t keep her hands off of Eric (Mexico). Then Lena couldn’t stop crying over Kostos (Greece). Even Tibby found love with primo-geek Brian (7-Eleven). Ann Brashares obviously knew that the best relationships come from couples who have different perspectives, but whose ideas are universal. Plus, they’re just really sexy.

4) Jeans can be magical
The magic of the Pants might be more metaphorical than literal – they keep the four friends together, even when they’re apart…blahblahblah – but the thrift store jeans have real magic sewn in their seams.  All four girls look fantastic in the Pants, even though their body types are vastly different. As Carmen puts it, the Pants “are happy just doing their basic job of covering your butt without making it look fatter than it actually is.” That’s magic in a nutshell.

3) Never bury your dead hamster in your freezer
I never really related to sporty Bridget, beautiful Lena, or dramatic Carmen, but there was always something familiar about Tibby’s angst.  Described as either “surly” or “mouthy”, we have both been stuck at home while our friends jet off around the world, and we both have dead rodents.  Thankfully, Tibby moved Mimi’s burial grounds to a more meaningful location. I’m not really sure what my mom did with Kirby.

2) Double-cuffing is gross
“There will never be a time when this will not be tacky.” ‘Nuff said.

1)  Friends = life
I’ve never had a friend that I’ve known since the womb, but these books illustrate the importance of a strong friendship. The Sisterhood was always there for each other, even when they were fighting and even when they were halfway across the globe. As a senior getting ready to go off to college, the Sisterhood is my inspiration for keeping my friends close, yes, even when we’re apart.