Gather round children, and listen to the tales of yesteryear. Back when those animated pictures on the telly-box of yore told of honesty! Perseverance! Bravery in the face of adversity! Truly, I would not be the morally upright, productive member of society if it had not been for the cartoon shows of my youth, the TV I spent glued to for hours on end in my most impressionable years. If you want to succeed in life, don’t go buy some silly self-help book—instead, go rifle through your old Pokémon video cassettes and start watching!

While we are on the topic of Pokémon, let me just say that it is a timeless tale of friendship that especially embodies the value of good ol’ elbow grease. Sure, parents and teachers always told me to work hard, but these words of advice would be empty, devoid of meaning, if it were not for the dedication and perseverance personified by Ash and his gang that I witnessed on a daily basis. To this very day I strive to replicate Ash’s commitment and resolve in chasing his goals. Time and time again Ash faces hardships and heartache, but never needs anything or anyone more than his beloved Pikachu to give him love and support when he needs it. Friends come and go: Brock and Misty leave Ash to go their separate ways, but Pikachu always stands by him when the going gets rough. Which makes me realize, at the heart of the matter, isn’t life’s journey just everyone’s search for their own Pikachu? A search for that one person who will stick with you through both the good times and the bad (and is preferably cuddly).

Heartwarming and idealistic views of friendship and love aside, the off-beat Courage the Cowardly Dog helped me put on a nice pair of confidence pants and stand up to my fears. By George, if a yammering purple pup can risk his life for his owners, then so can I! Metaphorically speaking, of course—just replace the word "owners" with "life goals and challenging tasks in general," and you’ve got yourself a truly inspirational quote, the likes of which have previously been limited to corporate offices and tacky (ahem, I mean touching) posters. Now, Courage the dog is not your average scrawny, anthropomorphic dog; he was abandoned as a puppy and adopted by Eustace and Muriel Bagge, who live in the Middle Of Nowhere, Kansas. Every episode, Courage is forced to face everything from evil flan-makers to "weremoles," as he risks his life to save his family. Sure, he gets frightened by little things like loud noises and creepy masks, but Courage always musters up his namesake when it really matters. I, too, am frightened by little things, and occasionally intimidated by public speaking, but I push myself and test my limits when the situation calls for it. Let us all strive to be like this brave purple pup, because the time is ripe for change. Need to speak in front of class for a project? Have no fear, and just be thankful that, unlike Courage, a chicken from outer-space hasn’t sent her three-headed son to destroy you.

My childhood was filled with cartoons extolling the virtues of teamwork, a value that pertains not only to group projects in school, but life in general. Office workers need teamwork to meet deadlines and company goals; waiters need to communicate with each other and the chefs in order to be efficient meal servers. Basically, most of your life will involve interpersonal interactions and working with others. The Powerpuff Girls is an exemplary show which embodies not only the values of interpersonal skills, but the importance of maintaining a good relationship with siblings. Oh, how often did little eight-year-old me bicker and fight with my little sister, only to remember after a rousing episode of The Powerpuff Girls (in which the pint-sized sisters would invariably team up and defeat some monster or other) that we could get so much more accomplished (especially pranks on our dad) if we played nice and worked together.

Last but not least, Hey Arnold!, with its football-headed star and his unibrow-sporting admirer Helga Pataki taught me one of the most important childhood lessons of all—that when someone is mean to you, it probably means they like you.

We enter kindergarten with valuable information: share your graham crackers, take your nap, and always tell the truth. As we grow older, however, these fundamental rules seem to change; now we are condemned for being too honest or too blunt when in fact we’re letting our inner kindergarteners take action by simply telling the truth. There should be nothing wrong with telling someone that their hair looks like eight bird nests entwined together and that if they don’t comb it out, magpies will land and nest. It’s the truth and therefore nothing bad should come out of it (except maybe baby magpies), yet it still does. The words "rude" and "obnoxious" surface, leaving us to wonder how to strike a balance between making a comment point blank and flat out lying. The line between the two, however fine, is there and is noticed by all. The white lies trapped in the middle can prove to be miracle workers when you’re in a tough bind.

The name itself can be misleading, for white lies aren’t outrageously spun out of proportion like your typical lies are; white lies merely bend the truth slightly, and no matter how slight the change, the difference in reaction is massive. Instead of inquiring whether or not you may borrow the bags under someone’s eyes to go to Trader Joe’s, the gentler, kinder version would be to commend them for working so diligently all night, the proof of their work proudly displayed under their eyes. Not everyone would be that brave, you’d say to them, because generally, people would try to cover them up even though there is nothing to be ashamed of. Not only would you spare yourself bruises in uncomfortable places, but you would also brighten someone else’s day. With white lies, it is definitely a win-win situation.

People may argue that white lies are immoral and that lies are lies, no matter what the motives behind them are, but in reality, each white lie has an element of truth. Finding the truth within, however, is much more difficult. Saying that you love someone’s new shoes when asked how much you like their entire outfit is not lying at all. With this statement, you are speaking the truth, for you may indeed love their shoes, just not their entire outfit. You don’t necessarily need to tell your friends that you run your compliments through a mesh strainer so that all of the "bad juices" drip out of your words, for doing so would yield unpleasant, if not dangerous, results.

Regardless of how often we choose to use white lies in our everyday conversations, I am still glad that we’re nothing like Pinocchio…I’d rather have magpies in my hair than termites in my nose.